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Department  of  Agriculture  and  Immi- 
gration of  Virginia 

GEO.   W.   KOINER,   Commissioner 

In  co-operatiou  with  the  Forest  Service  United  vStates 
Department  of  Agricnltnre 

Henry  S.    Gra\rs,   Forester 


HORTLEAF  FINE  IN  VIRGINIA 

The  Increase  in  its  Yield  by  Thinning 

By  W.    W.   ASHE 

Forest  Examiner,   Forest  Service 


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RiCHMONii 


HAV1S  MuXroM,   sri'KHINTKNI>EN  I    ITl<Mi-  PHlNTlN(i 
lill8 


NORTH  CAROLINA  STATE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated 
below  and  is  subject  to  an  overdue 
fine  as  posted  at  the  circulation  desk. 


EXCEPTION:  Date  due  will 
earlier  if  this  item  is  RECALLED. 


1  be  I 
,ED.  I 


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SOOZ  I  0  IDO 


200M/09-98-981815 


Crowded  (small  pole  stand  of  short  leaf  piuo  about  :!0  years  old  In  need  of 
thlnnlUf?.  The  trees  are  slender  and  clean  stemmed,  but  Irregular  In  eize  A  large 
number  of  the  smaller  trees  should  be  removed. 


Department  of  Agriculture  and  Immi- 
gration of  Virginia 

GEO.  W.  KOINER,  Commissioner 

In  co-operation  with  the  Forest  Service  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture 

Henry  S.   Graves,  Forester 


SHORTLEAF  PINE  IN  VIRGINIA 

The  Increase  in  its  Yield  by  Thinning 


By  W;  W:  ASHE 

Forest  Examiner,  Forest  Service 


RICHMOND  : 

DAVIS  BOTTOM,   SUPERINTKNf DENT  PUBLIC  PRINTING 
1913 


CONT^KNTS 


Purposes   and    results    5 

Distribution   and   importance    & 

Names  and  distinguishing  characteristics 7 

Uses   of   wood    8 

Condition  and   composition    of   old-tield   stands 9. 

Permanency  of  old-field   pine  stands 10 

Management   IZ. 

Fully  stocked   and    crowded  stands 18, 

Understocked    stands    14 

Thinnings    15 

Classes  of  trees    . 15 

Dominant    trees     15. 

Intermediate    trees    15. 

Suppressed    trees    IB- 
How   heavily   to  thin    16 

What  to  remove  in  thinning 17 

Acceleration   in  growth  from   thinning 17 

Method    of    thinning 18 

Sapling  stands    (younger  than  20   years) 18 

Small  pole  stands   (from  20  to  30  years  old ) IS 

Large  pole  stands   (from  30  to  40  years  old) 19 

Mature  stands  (from  40  to  50  years  old) 19 

Typical    stands    20 

Production  of  cordwood  from  thinned  and   unthinned  stands 23 

-Maximum  yield   of   cordwood 24 

Cost   of  growing  cordwood 26 

Production   of   saw    timber 26 

Influence    of    density    of   stand    upon    yield    of    saw    timber    at 

different    ages    26- 

Age  of  cutting  for  maximum  yield    28 

Cost  of  growing  saw  timber   29 

Value  of  trees  and  stands 32 

Waste  in  cutting  small  trees 35. 

Lumbering  and    restocking 35 

Isolated   seed   trees    36 

Cutting  in  strips    37 

Cutting,  unthinned  stands 37 

Planting  waste  land   38 

Returns  from  plantations    39 

The  protection   of  stands    41 

Fires 41 

Insects   43 

Fungus   diseases                                                      44 


48835 


ILUUSTRAXIONS 


Plate  I. — ^Crowded  small  pole  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  about  30 
years  old  in  need  of  thinning.  The  trees  are  slender  and  clean 
stemmed,  but  irregular  in  size.  A  large  number  of  the  smaller 
trees  should  be  removed    Frontispiece. 

Plate  II. — ^A  dense  sapling  stand  of  shortleaf  pine  15  to  18  years 
old,  but  too  small  to  be  profitably  thinned.  While  the  clean 
condition  of  the  floor  is  good,  fire  could  do  great  damage  to 
such  a  stand 

Plate  III. — Understocked  large  pole  stand  of  shortleaf  pine  30 
years  old.  The  trees  are  short-bodied  and  knotty  and  will  yield 
only  low  grade  lumber.  The  best  that  can  be  done  with  such 
a  stand  is  to  cut  it,  leaving  the  most  slender,  clean-bodied 
trees   for  seed-trees 

Plate  IV. — Crowded,  large  pole  stand  of  shortleaf  pine  40  years 
old,  badly  in  need  of  thinning  by  removing  the  smaller  pines 
and  many  of  the  hardwoods.  Condition  of  larger  trees,  with 
long,  smooth  bodies,  excellent 

Plate  V. — 'Mature  stand  of  shortleaf  pine.  Trees  nearly  uniform  in 
size  and  ready  to  be  cut  for  lumber.  Groups  of  slender,  wind- 
firm  trees  can  be  left  for  seed  trees. 

Plate  VI.— Figure  1.— A  typical  case  of  sustained  rapid  diameter 
growth,  resulting  from  repeated  thinnings,  in  a  tree  of  short- 
leaf  pine  which  was  overcrowded  for  many  years.  Wood  of 
-such  a  tree  is  free  from  large  knots,  and  its  stum  page  is 
worth  $8  a  1,000  board  feet  under  a  cost  of  operating  of  $12 

Figure  2. — Stem  of  a  small  sprout  sapling  of  shortleaf  pine, 
crooked  and  scarred  at  the  neck  as  a  result  of  the  original 
seedling  having  been  killed  to  the  ground  by  fire.  Stump  and 
root  rots  gain   entrance  through   such  scars. 


Shortleaf  Pine  in  Virginia 


The  study  upon  which  this  report  is  based  was  undertaken  by 
the  Forest  Service  in  co-operation  with  the  State  of  Virginia,  the 
work  being  done  under  the  direction  of  the  officer  in  charge 
of  State  Co-operation  in  the  Forest  Service.  By  the  terms  of  the 
co-operative  agreement,  the  State  is  authorized  to  publish  the  find- 
ings of  the  investigation. 

PURPOSES  AND  RESULTS. 

At  the  request  of  Hon.  C  A.  Swanson,  Governor  of  Virginia, 
the  Forest  Service,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  in 
the  autumn  of  1909,  made  an  examination  of  the  second-growth 
shortleaf  pine  in  old  fields  in  the  middle  portion  of  Virginia. 
The  cost  of  this  work  was  bonie  jointly  by  the  State  of  Virginia 
and  the  Forest  Service. 

The  examination  included  a  detailed  investigation  of  stands  of 
pine  in  old  fields  in  Mecklenburg,  Lunenburg.  Brunswick,  and 
Hanover  counties,  which  was  supplemented  by  a  general  examina- 
tion of  the  stands  in  other  counties  in  the  middle  })art  of  the  State. 
Its  scope  was: 

(1)  To  ascertain  the  condition  of  the  old-field  stands  and  the 
value  of  their  timber  for  lumber  uses; 

(2)  To  determine  the  effect  of  lumbering  on  the  future  yields 
of  the  stands  and  to  ascertain  whether  conservative  methods  of 
cutting  could  be  employed  profitably; 

(H)   To  determine  the  yield  of  stands  of  ditierent  ages; 

(4)  To  recommend  methods  of  thinning  and  cutting  to  ac- 
celerate growth; 

•    (5)   To  devise  inethods  of  protection  for  young  growth. 

The  conclusions  reached  as  a  result  of  the  investigation  can  be 
suminarized  as  follows: 

Shortleaf  pine  is  the  most  important  tree  in  twenty  south- 
central  counties,  but  the  3neld  from  the  pine  lands  is  low  because 
there  is  neither  protwtion  nor  a  definite  system  of  cutting.  The 
yield  can  be  greatly  increased  and  the  quality  of  timber  improved 
by  a  regular  system  of  management. 

(1)  Better  protection  again.st  fires  and  inse<-ts  is  required  in 
most  stands.    Young  stancls.  especially  while  in  process  of  stocking, 

I.i"brary 


6  SHORTLEAF    PINE     IN     Vllt(1IXIA 

siirt'er  most  from  fires.  Older  stands  art^  most  endano-ered  by  in- 
sects. Protection  against  fire  may  be  secured  by  means  of  fire 
lanes,  posted  warnings,  restriction  of  night  hunting,  and  patrol 
during  dr}^  seasons  when  neighboring  lands  are  afire.  The  danger 
of  loss  from  insects  may  be  reduced  by  making  frequent  thinnings 
and  by  removing  or  by  cutting  infested  trees. 

(2)  The  average  stand  of  pine  is  far  too  thinly  stocked.  This 
is  due  to  insufficient  natural  seeding  and  to  the  thinning  of  young 
stands  by  fire  and  of  older  stands  by  insects.  The  yield  of  such 
thinly-stocked  stands  is  considerably  less,  and  the  grade  and  value 
of  the  timber  is  lower,  than  from  thicldy  stocked  stands. 

(3)  Crowded  areas  occur  in  nearly  all  stands,  and  some  stands 
are  crowded  throughout.  Such  crowded  plots  can  be  greatly  im- 
proved by  thinnings.  The  effect  of  thinnings  is  to  accelerate 
growth,  hasten  maturity'',  and  produce  a  superior  qualit}^  of  timber. 
The  beneficial  results  of  thinnings  decrease  with  the  age  of  the 
stand,  but  stands  as  old  as  forty-five  years  respond  to  them  Avcli. 

(4)  Where  natural  seeding  has  not  formed  dense  stands  witli- 
in  ten  years,  the  stocking  can  be  completed  by  the  planting  of 
seed;  and,  where  natural  seeding  does  not  take  place,  whole  areas 
may  be  seeded.  Stands  restocked  in  these  ways  can  be  expected  to 
yield  fully  as  well  as  the  best  natural  stands  and  to  return  a  fair 
rate  of  interest  on  their  cost. 

If  management  is  applied,  that  is,  if  young  stands  are  pro- 
tected, full  stocking  secured,  and  the  stands  subsequently  thinned, 
the  yield  of  saw  timber  from  a  40-year-old  stand  can  be  more  than 
doubled  and  its  value  gTeatly  increased.  Shortleaf  pine  is  already 
one  of  the  chief  sources  of  building  material  on  the  farms.  Fur- 
thermore, the  farms  have  more  timber  than  is  required  for  their 
own  support,  so  that  as  the  general  demand  for  coarse  lumber  in- 
creases and  its  price  rises,  shortleaf  pine  in  farm  woodlots  can  be 
made  an  important  source  of  commercial  timber  and  a  means  of 
permanent  income. 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  IMPORTAXCE 

Second-growth  or  old-field  shortleaf  pine  is  the  most  important 
tree  of  middle  Virginia  and  the  riedmont,  south  of  the  Kappa- 
hannoek,  in  which  region  it  probably  occupies  more  than  one-half 
of  the  total  forest  area  and  more  than  three- fourths  of  the  farm 
forest  area.  It  forms  the  dominant  gi-owth  on  more  than  3,000,000 
acres,  on  which  it  occurs  either  in  pure  stands  or,  more  commonly. 


SHOKTLEAL-     I'lNK     IX     VIKCINIA  7 

with  a  slight  mixture  of  dthcr  i)iiies  aiul  of  seedliiii>'  and  sprout 
liar(hvo(>ds.  It  meets  witli  least  competition  and  forms  the  purest 
second-gi'owth  stands  in  the  tier  of  southern  counties  west,  of  Lun- 
enburg <vounty.  It  is  not  common  north  of  the  Kappahannock 
river,  and  is  infrequent  on  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  and  in  the 
Great  Valley,  while  in  1'i<lewater  Virginia  it  grows  only  on  the 
best  drained  clay  soils,  and  in  these  sections,  on  account  of  the  com- 
petition of  other  species,  its  seoond  growth  seldom  occurs  in  pure 
stands. 

Names  axu  Distixolisuixo  Ciiauactp:risti(s 

8hortl«af  pine  is  also  and  more  generally  loiown  as  rosemary 
pine,  spruce  pine,  and  yellow  pine.  The  original  growth  is  fre- 
quently distinguished  from  the. second  growth  in  old  fields  under 
the  names  of  forest  or  woods  pine. 

This  tree  is  not  to  hv  confused  with  scrub  or  jack  pine, 
which  is  also  called  spruce  pine.  Scrub  pine  is  a  snuiller  and  in- 
ferior tree  with  a  limby  stem  and  smooth,  scal}^  bark.  It  is  largely 
replacing  shortleaf  pine  in  old  fields  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
State  and  in  the  u])pei-  edge  of  the  l*iedmont  in  and  near  the 
mountains,  and  is  occasionally  found  mixed  with  shortleaf  pine 
southeastward  as  far  as  Brunswick  county.  Nor  is  it  to  be  con- 
fused with  loblolly  pine,  which  is  known  in  extreme  southern  \'ir- 
ginia  as  shortleaf  pine  and,  where  it  occui's  near  the  coast,  as  long- 
leaf,  swamp,  foxtail,  or  slash  pine.  I^ol)lolly  i)ine  is  the  common 
pine  an  sandy  soils  in  'I'idewater  X'irgluia.  but  it  extends  westward 
in  association  with  shortleaf  pine  to  Brunswick.  Chesterfield  and 
Louisa  counties.  The  northern  i)itch,  bull,  or  l)lack  i)ine  of  the 
mountains,  which  is  yet  another  tree,  seldom  forms  second  growth 
in  old  fields. 

'J'he  cone  and  leaf  ditl'erences  of  these  trees  will  be  a  further 
bel})  in  separating  them : 

Shortleaf  pine  has  cones  (burrs)  seldom  more  than  1  1-2  inches 
long,  and  slender,  straight  needles,  two  or  three  together,  twice  as 
long  as  the  oones. 

Sci'ub  pine  has  cones  of  about  the  same  length  as  tlio^e  of 
shortleaf  pine  (1  1-2  inclie>)  but  they  are  relatively  bi-oader.  The 
needles  are  stout  and  twisted,  with  never  more  than  two  together, 
jTud  are  about  the  same  length  as  the  cones.  Fre(|uently  the  cones 
of  scrub  pine  and  >hortleaf  pine  remain  on  the  ti-ees  foi'  many  years 
after  oi)eiiinsr. 


8  SHOKTLEAF    PINE    IN     VIKGIXIA 

Loblolly  pine  has  large  cones,  from  3  to  4  inches  long.  Its 
needles  are  borne  in  threes  and  are  about  twice  as  long  as  the  cones. 
The  cones  of  this  species  usually  fall  during  the  second  summer. 
l>ut  sometimes  they  persist  for  several  years. 

Uses  of  Wood 

The  timber  of  second-growth  shortleaf  pine  is  largely  sap- 
wood.  The  formation  of  heart  wood  does  not  begin  until  the  trees 
are  about  twenty-fiv'e  years  old.  For  many  years  thereafter  the 
heartwood  is  limited  to  a  small  core,  and  more  than  two-thirds  of 
the  volume  of  trees  fifty  years  old  is  still  sapwood.  The  most  im- 
portant uses  for  the  wood  of  the  shortleaf  pine  are  for  building 
lumber,  fuel,  slack  cooperage,  box  lumber,  headings,  and  crates. 
The  wood  contains  too  much  resin  to  be  a  desirable  material  for 
paper  pulp  stock  without  special  treatment,  although  it  is  used  to 
some  extent  for  this  purpose.  On  account  of  its  softness  it  is  not 
suited  for  railroad  ties  if  the  traffic  is  heavA',  and,  when  used  for 
this  purpose  should  be  made  more  durable  by  preservative  treat- 
ment. 

The  large  proportion  of  sapwood  in  the  second-growth  tim- 
ber renders  it  undesirable  for  shingles,  for  which  the  durable  heart- 
wood  of  the  old  growth  was  extensively  employed ;  and  unfits  it  for 
other  uses  requiring  exposure  to  the  weather,  unless  it  is  thoroughly 
kiln-dried  and  painted.  Logs  more  than  fourteen  inches  in  dia- 
meter from  trees  with  clear  boles  yield  lumber  suitable  for  ceiling 
styles  and  panels  of  doors,  sashes,  window  frames,  interior  wood- 
work, and  also  for  flooring  if  rift  sawed.  Timber  suitable  for  such 
uses  must  come  not  only  from  comparatively  large  trees,  but  from 
trees  which  early  cleaned  their  stems  and  formed  wood  in  the  lower 
two-thirds  of  the  trunk  free  of  Icnots.  That  part  of  the  li-ee  which 
can  be  converted  into  lumber  of  this  kind  should  command,  on  the 
basis  of  $25  for  the  finished  lumber,  a  stumpage  price  of  not  less 
than  $10  a  tliousand  board  feet. 

IJidess  the  pri<-e  of  cordwood  stumpage  is  i)i-()p()rtioiKitely 
mu<"li  higher  than  that  of  saw  timber  stumpage.  the  greatest  profit 
from  a  crowded  stand  will  be  secured  l)y  I'eserving  the  lai-ger  trees 
for  saw  timber,  and  in  the  meantime  thinning  or  culling  the  small- 
est trees  for  cordwood,  stave  stock,  box  boards,  bolts,  and  similar 
purposes,  for  which  small  material  is  suited.  If  (mly  selected  ti-ees 
are  retained  for  saw  timber  they  should  be  allowed  to  attain  a  large 
size  in  order  to  pi-oduce  timber  of  high  (juality. 


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i'LAL'E  II. 
A  aense  sapling  stand  of  shortleaf  pine  15  to   18  years  old,  but  too  small  to  be 
piotltabiy  thinned.     While  the  clean  oondillon  of  the  Hoor  Is  good,  lire  could  do 
great  damage  In  such  a  stand. 


shortlp:af  pine  in   Virginia  ¥ 

CONDITION  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  OLD-FIP:i.D 
STANDS 

As  early  as  1T35  it  had  become  a  fixed  pai-t  of  the  farming 
syslem  of  middle  Virginia  to  clear  new  ground  each  year  and  to 
abandon  to  rallow  a  parcel  of  the  oldest  and  most  worn  farmmg 
land.  The  lantl  thus  turned  out  was  rapidly  colonized  with  pines 
through  seed  l)lown  by  the  wind  from  old  trees  nearby.  When 
these  pines  had  become  large  enough  and  the  humus  had  been  re- 
stored to  the  soil  through  them,  the  land  was  usually  cleared  again. 
Such  a  system  of  rotation  of  timber  and  cultivated  crops  was  pos.- 
sible  only  in  a  region  where  land  was  abundant  and  cheap.  It  was 
due  in  part  to  the  lack  of  local  markets,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
export  a  large  portion  of  the  crops  and  therefore  to  produce  them 
as  cheaply  as  possible,  regardless  of  the  eti'ect  upon  the  soil;  and 
in  part  to  the  fact  that  these  soils  were  not  natural  grazing  lands, 
and  the  depleted  humus  could  be  renewed  naturally  and  cheaply 
by  the  replacement  of  the  native  pines.  Some  of  the  existing 
gi'oves  of  old-held  pine  thus  originated  before  the  Revolutionary 
VV'ar.  Most  of  them,  however,  are  younger,  having  originated  dur- 
ing and  just  after  the  Civil  War  or  in  the  subsequent  periods  of 
agricultural  depression  about  1880  and  1892.  These  stands  are 
consequently  of  all  ages;  from  the  youngest,  just  in  process  of 
stocking  land  which  has  been  turned  out  during  the  i)ast  decade, 
to  those  more  than  100  years  old.  Stands  between  fifteen  and 
forty-five  years  old  are,  however,  the  most  numerous. 

Such  old-field  stands  were  thus  established  naturally,  and  no 
efforts  were  made  by  the  owners  to  increase  their  density  when 
they  wei^  too  open  or  to  protect  them,  while  young,  from  fire. 
They  have  seldom  been  thinned  judiciously  for  improvement.  As 
a  residt,  they  vary  widely  in  density.  Small  tracts  are  usually 
well-stocked,  since,  if  seed-l)eariiig  trees  were  nearby  while  stocking 
was  taking  place,  seeds  Avere  in  a  few  years  scattered  uniformly 
over  the  entire  tract  and  such  small  tracts  were  often  protected 
from  fire  by  fences,  or  by  adjacent  cultivated  fields.  The  trees  in 
such  well-stocked  stands  are  slender  and  clean-bodied,  with  small 
crowns.  The  average  tract,  however,  is  poorly  stocked.  The  trees 
are  isolated,  individually,  or  in  iri'egular  groups,  and  consequently 
siiort-bodied.  knotty,  and  coarse-grained.  This  open  condition  of 
many  of  the  stands  is  due  to  the  fact  that  seed  trees  were  too 
few  or  too  distant  while  the  stocking  was  in  progi-ess,  or  to  the 
fact  that  the  fields  became  grassy  and  the  seedlings  were  killed  by 


10  SIIOKTLEAr     PINE     IX     VIR<ilNIA 

tires  that  burned  the  grass.  Scattered  advance  a;ro\vth  frequently 
has  borne  seed  and  so  stocked  the  gaps.  Such  stands  are  irreguhir 
in  age  and  size. 

Many  of  the  older  stands  have  been  irregidarly  and  often  heav- 
ily cut  for  poles,  cordwood.  and  even  sawlogs.  Most  stands  of  sap- 
ling or  larger  size  are  too  open  for  the  best  gi'owth  of  the  trees 
and  for  the  highest  financial  returns. 

The  proportion  of  shortleaf  pine  in  the  old-field  stands  varies. 
North  of  the  Rappahannock  river  the  proportion  of  scrub  pine 
mixed  with  the  shortleaf  increases,  until  in  Fairfax  county  and  the 
lower  end  of  Prince  William  county  it  largely  replaces  shortleaf 
pine.  It  is  also  largely  mixed  with  shortleaf  pine  in  stands  near 
the  mountains.  In  the  shortleaf  pine  stands  in  the  eastern  eiKh  of 
Hanover,  Chesterfield  and  Brunswick  counties,  there  is  a  large 
proportion  of  loblolly  pine,  which  entirely  supplants  the  shortleaf 
farther  eastward.  South  and  southwest  of  Hanover  county  the 
only  pine  in  the  field  stands  is  the  shortleaf.  but  species  other  than 
pine  form  part  of  the  mixture  in  a  varying  proportion,  though 
they  seldom  make  up  more  than  ten  per  cent,  in  stands  younger 
than  thirty-five  years  old.  In  young  stands  these  associated  species 
vary  with  the  kinds  of  seed-trees  nearby.  On  lower  slopes  they 
are  usually  maple,  poplar,  sAveet  gum.  and  the  oaks;  on  hilltops 
they  are  red  cedar,  oaks,  hickory,  black  gum,  persimmon,  cherry, 
thorn,  sassafras,  and  dogwood. 

Permanency   of   Old-Field    Pine   Stands 

As  the  field  pine  stands  become  older,  especially  after  they 
have  passed  the  thirty-fifth  year,  their  crown  cover  tends  to  tiiin. 
and  this  favors  the  growth  of  the  oaks  and  hickories,  which  come 
in  from  seed  dropped  by  squirrels,  crows,  jays.  etc..  and  are  bettei- 
able  to  grow  beneath  the  cover  than  are  young  pines.  Even  after 
the  pine  in  the  stand  begins  to  seed  the  proportion  of  these  broad- 
leaf  species  continues  to  increase,  since  the  young  pines  can  come 
in  only  when  an  extensive  opening  is  made  by  the  death  of  a  large 
pine.  Thei-e  is  thus  a  tendency  toward  a  gi-adual  re-establishment 
of  the  original  forest  type  which  prevailed  Ijefore  the  land  was 
cleared,  namely,  a  mixture  of  oak,  hickory,  black  gum,  and  pine, 
with  pine  forming  a  small  proportion  on  the  best  soil  and  a  large 
]u-(tp.ortion — frequently  more  than  half  the  number  of  trees — on 
the  ixioi'.  dry  or  sandy  soils.  The  pure  i)ine  stands  are.  therefore,  a 
teiiipoi'ary  type,  which  in  time  will  l)e  ivplaced  by  the  perninnent 
mixed-growth  ty])e. 


SllUKTl.KAF     riNE     IN     \II!(;INIA  11 

It  is  not  an  invariable  rule  that  "hartlwoods  follow  pine"  after 
<Mittiii<2;  or  that  "pine  follows  hardwoods"  after  cuttjnij  or  clearing. 
r>ut  pure  pine  usnally  forms  the  second  growth  if  there  is  no  shade 
or  cover,  as  in  old  fields  or  on  hardwood  laud  which  lias  been  cut 
clear  in  late  summer  or  early  autunm.  when  the  sprouting  power  of 
the  hardwoods  is  low.  If  seed-beariug  trees  are  near,  such  open 
land,  ^^jliether  in  field  or  forest,  is  captured  in  a  few"  years  by 
l)iue.  by  means  of  its  abundant,  light  seeds  which  are  widely  scat- 
tered by  the  W'ind.  The  heavy  seeds  of  oak,  hickory  and  black 
guui.  which  are  carried  largely  by  birds  and  squirrels,  are  dis- 
seuiinated  too  slowly  and  irregiUarly  to  enable  such  species  to 
compete  successfully  with  pine  in  stcK-king  nearby  open  lands.  Un- 
der these  conditions,  pine  usually  follows  oak. 

On  the  other  hand,  pine  is  unable  to  establish  itself  beneath 
dense  shade,  whether  of  pine  or  of  hardwoods.  For  this  reason 
young  pine  growth  is  seldom  found  under  the  trees  except  in  older 
open  pine  stands.  The  seeds  of  hardwoods,  however,  are  dropped 
from  year  to  year  in  such  stands  and  germinate;  and  the  seedlings, 
through  their  persistency  and  ability  to  endure  shade,  will  survive 
in  shade  in  Avhich  a  young  pine  can  not  live,  although  their  groAvth 
in  this  case  is  extremely  slow.  When  the  large  pines  are  cut,  these 
stunted  harchvoods,  responding  to  improved  conditions  of  light  and 
root  space,  grow  rapidly  and  if  they  are  numerous  thev  form  the 
larger  part  of  the  growth  which  follows  the  pine. 

In  those  portions  of  the  State  in  which  it  occurs,  scrub  }'iiie 
affects  the  permanence  of  the  shortleaf  pine  stand  on  medium  soils 
eveu  Ujore  than  do  the  hardwoods.  Scrub  pine  seeds  prolifically, 
when  much  younger  and  smaller  than  shortleaf  pine,  and  the  seed- 
lings are  tolerant  of  far  more  shade  than  those  of  the  shortleaf. 
For  these  reasons,  it  not  only  excludes  the  shortleaf  from  old 
fields  which  are  in  process  of  stocking,  but  it  successfully  competes 
with  the  young  hardwoods  in  occupying  o])enings  in  stands  of 
shortleaf  pine  in  which  the  coA-er  is  too  heavy  for  shortleaf  seed- 
liugs  to  exist,  and  thus  in  part  succee<ls  the  shortleaf  in  shortleaf 
Mauds. 

I>y  reason  of  this  aggressixeness.  scrub  pine  is  so  completely 
replacing  shortleaf  pine  over  large  areas  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  State  and  near  the  Blue  Ridge  that  the  economic  range  of 
shortleaf  j)ine  is  being  restricted. 


12  SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 

managp:ment 

Forest  management  as  applied  to  old-field  stands  may  be  sum- 
marized as  the  use  of  any  methods  of  restocking,  cutting,  or  thin- 
ning which  Avill  reduce  the  cost  of  growing  timber  or  add  to  the 
value  of  the  timber  grown. 

Natural  stands  are  usually  either  understocked,  at  least  in 
certain  phases  or  during  certain  periods  of  growth,  or  else  over- 
crowded. 

The  maximum  growth  is  obtained  by  maintaining  such  a  num- 
ber of  trees  to  the  acre  as  will  uti.lize  the  full  (•ai)acity  of  the  soil 
and  at  the  same  time  secure  the  best  development  of  the  individual 
trees.  Understocked  stands  do  not  use  the  full  capacity  of  the  soil 
and  must  be  filled  out  to  the  required  density  by  planting  in  the 
thin  places.  In  crowded  stands,  on  the  other  hand,  the  indi- 
vidual trees  are  retarded;  they  must  be  thinned  in  order  to  make 
them  gi-ow  at  their  best  rate.  These  requirements  of  the  stand 
are  discussed  in  connection  with  the  subjects  of  thinnings  and 
planting. 

Another  phase  of  management  is  cutting  at  the  period  of  ma- 
turity as  determined  by  eitiier  maximum  yield  or  value.  The  rate 
of  growth  or  accretion  of  a  stand  is  not  the  same  at  all  ages.  The 
yearly  growth  rapidly  increases  from  nearly  nothing  to  a  maxi- 
mum, then  slowly  declines.  When  the  rate  of  annual  growth  be- 
gins to  decline,  a  loss  in  yield  is  entailed  if  cutting  is  deferred. 
The  time  at  which  the  maximum  of  the  average  annual  yield  is 
obtained  varies  with  the  size  of  the  timber  which  is  desired ;  it 
would  not  be  the  same'  for  lumber,  which  requires  large  timber,  as 
for  cordwood,  for  which  small  timber  can  be  used.  But  while  it  is 
desirable  to  obtain  the  maximum  annual  yield  from  a  stand,  the 
cost  of  production  is  a  factor  wliich  cannot  be  neglected. 

The  cost  of  production  embraces  the  interest  on  the  invest  inent. 
the  taxes,  superintendence,  protection,  and  the  making  of  improve- 
ment cuttings  and  thinnings.  As  far  as  the  needs  of  owners  and 
the  market  conditions  allow,  a  stand  should  be  cut  at  financial 
maturity,  that  is,  when  it  yields  the  best  returns  on  the  investment. 
These  phases  of  nit'inagement  are  considered  in  connection  with 
yields  of  stands  at  different  ages,  and  with  the  cost  of  growing 
timber.  One  of  the  most  important  considerations  in  manage- 
ment is  the  method  employed  for  obtaining  a  prompt  renewal  of 
the  stand  in  order  to  prevent  the  loss  of  interest  on  the  investment 
by  the  idleness  of  the  land. 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA  13 

Protection  of  stands  from  fire,  from  insects,  and  from  fungus 
diseases  is  necessary  to  insure  fully  stocked  stands  and  scimd 
timber. 

The  figures  relating  to  the  growth  and  yield  of  shortleaf  pine 
are  based  on  stands  which  are  growing  on  soil  formerly  covered 
with  forests  of  shortleaf  pine  mixed  with  white  oak,  southern  red 
oak  {Quercus  digitata),  black  oak,  and  white  hickoiy.  The  rate 
of  growth  on  such  sites  is  regarded  as  the  average  or  usual  rate. 
Where  the  pine  now  grows  on  soils  which  were  formerly  covered  with 
forests  of  shortleaf  pine  mixed  with  post  oak,  with  black-jack  oak, 
or  with  Spanish  oak  {QuenMs  coccinea),  or  vt^ith  a  large  propor- 
tion of  these  oaks  together  with  other  oaks,  the  rate  of  gi'owth  and 
the  yield  of  the  stands  will  be  considerably  lower  than  that  given. 

Fully  Stocked  and  Crowded  Stands 

A  stand  is  fully  stocked  when  it  contams  all  the  well-grown, 
vigorous  trees  which  the  soil  can  support.  This  number  decreases 
with  the  age  of  the  stand  and  the  consequent  increase  in  the  size 
of  the  trees.  In  a  natural  twenty-year-old  stand  of  shortleaf  pnie 
the  number  to  the  acre  should  exceed  1,500;  at  forty  years  it  has 
decreased  to  about  750;  at  sixty  years  it  has  fallen  to  less  than  450. 
This  reduction  of  the  number  of  trees  in  a  st^nd  progi-esses  nat- 
urally. As  the  trees  become  older  and  larger,  their  crowns  spread 
and  their  roots  extend  in  search  of  food  and  moisture.  Com])eti- 
tion  for  light,  food  and  moisture  ensues,  and  this  in  turn  results  in 
the  dying  of  the  smaller  and  weaker  trees,  which  are  overtopped 
and  crowded  out  by  the  more  vigorous  ones. 

A  fully-stocked  stand,  in  which  natural  thinning  is  taking  place 
rapidly,  is  crowded  (plates  I,  II  and  IV).  At  any  age  the  fact 
that  a  stand  is  crowded  is  indicated  by  a  close  crown  cover  and  the 
presence  of  many  dead  trees  and  slender  live  trees  with  narrow 
•crowns.  In  a  young  stand  of  this  character  less  than  thirty-five 
years  old  the  crowding  is  so  gi-eat  that  the  crown  of  each  tree  al- 
most touches  the  crowns  of  its  neighbors  and  direct  sunlight  hardly 
reaches  the  soil.  The  shade  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  start  of 
young  trees  and  most  shrubs  beneath  the  pines  and  the  carpet  of 
pine  needles  is  so  thick  as  to  exclude  grass,  while  small  dead  trees 
are  numerous.  In  stands  more  than  thirty-five  or  forty  years  old 
there  is  a  wider  distance  between  adjacent  crowns,  due  to  the  rapid 
dying  of  the  larger  of  the  slender  narrow-crowned  trees.  This 
opening  of  the  stand  admits  more  sunlight,  and  young  oaks,  hick- 


14  SIIOKTI.EAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 

ories.  aiitl  otlier  lives,  as  well  as  many  shrubs,  begin  to  grow  be- 
neath the  pines.  Dead  trees  and  live  trees  with  naiTow  crowns  are 
not  so  numerous  as  in  younger  stands.  The  mat  of  pine  needles  is 
tiiinner  in  the  older  stands  and  grass  is  able  to  spring  up. 

A  fiiJly-stocked  young  stand  of  shoi-tleaf  pine  has,  therefore, 
a  dense  crown  cover.  In  both  young  and  old  stands,  if  they  are 
fully  stocked,  there  are  slender  trees  with  narrow,  spry  crowns  and 
dead  trees  which  have  been  crowded  out,  though  the  latter  are  more 
abunchmt  in  the  young  stands.  Whether  a  stand  is  crowded  and  in 
need  of  thinning  may  be  determined  by  the  gi-eater  or  less  abund- 
ance of  crowded  and  dead  trees,  co.nsidered  in  connection  with  the 
age  of  the  stand  and  the  normal  <lensity  of  the  crown  canopy  at  a 
given  age. 

UxDERSTorivEn  Stands 

The  average  stand  of  shortleaf  pine  in  middle  and  Piedmont 
Virginia,  however,  instead  of  being  too  densely  stocked,  is  too 
thinly  stocked.  When  the  crowns  do  not  interfere,  or  are  round- 
topped  with  practically  horizontal  lower  branches,  the  stand  is  too 
open  for  best  growth. 

Young  and  even  middle-aged  stands  are  frequently  open,  but 
their  wide-spreading  crowns  eventually  close  and  form  a  dense 
crown  cover  like  that  of  a  fully-stocked  stand.  But  in  this  case 
dead  trees  and  fslender  overtopped  trees  are  absent;  the  crowns  of 
the  trees  are  too  round  and  wide-spreading;  the  stems  are  too  short 
and  limby;  and  the  number  of  ti-ees  to  the  acre  is  much  less  than 
in  fully-stocked  stands  of  the  same  height.  (Table  9).  Under- 
stocked stands  of  this  kind  do  not  require  thinning.  Moderately 
understocked  young  stands  usually  become  crowded  early  enough 
to  reduce  some  of  the  evils  of  understocking,  but  the  steins  of 
the  trees  are  never  so  tall  and  free  from  limbs  and  Iniots  as  those 
which  develop  when  there  is  crowding  all  through  the  life  of  the 
stand  and  their  total  yield  is  usually  less  than  that  of  a  fully- 
stocked  stand.  (Plate  III).  Young  understocked  stands  should 
be  filled  out  by  planting. 

In  nearly  every  stand,  however,  there  will  be  found  at  least 
groups  of  trees  which  will  be  benefited  by  thinning.  The  presence 
in  the  stand  of  numerous  small  dead  trees  and  slender  trees  with 
spiry  crowns  is  a  clear  indication  that  thinning  is  needed. 


SHORTLKAF    FIXE    IN     VIRGINIA  ]  B 

THINNINGS 

'I'he  objects  of  thinnings  are,  first,  to  accelerate  the  growth  and 
shorten  the  time  necessary  to  bring  the  stand  to  maturity,  and, 
second,  by  removing  defectiA'e  trees  to  produce  a  mature  stand 
formed  of  perfect  specimens  and  so  increase  the  yield  of  lumber. 
The  elimination  of  the  weaker  specimens  by  natural  process  takes 
place  too  slowly  for  the  best  development,  because  the  growth  of 
the  trees  which  are  ultimately  to  surv'ive  is  i-etarded  by  the  pro- 
longation of  the  struggle  for  light  and  food.  Yet  limited  crowd- 
ing is  necessaiy  at  certain  periods  to  force  height  groAvth  and  to 
develop  long,  straight  stems,  reasonably  free  from  limbs.  More- 
o^■er.  the  number  of  trees  to  the  acre  largely  determines  the  volume 
of  the  yield  and  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  value  of  the 
trees.  Usually  the  crowded  stands  produce  the  greatest  volume  of 
\v(M;d  at  all  ages:  but  when  the  size  or  diameter  of  the  individual 
trees  is  of  primary  importance,  as  in  the  production  of  saw  logs, 
less  crowding  is  desirable.  By  means  of  judicious  periodic  thin- 
nings. It  is  possible  both  to  favor  competition  and  to  relieve  over- 
crowding and  in  this  way  gi-eatly  to  accelerate  the  growth  of  the 
reinaiiiing  trees.  Such  thinnings  reduce  the  number  of  trees,  but 
they  produce  equally  tall  trees  of  much  larger  diameter,  with 
straight,  clean  stems  and  but  little  taper.  It  is  commonly  held 
that  if  the  larger  trees  are  removed  as  they  come  to  merchantable 
size  the  smaller  trees  will  make  accelerated  growth.  This  is  un- 
questionably true  of  many  species  and  it  is  true  also  of  short- 
leaf  pine  under  thirty  years  old,  but  in  pure  old  stands  of  short- 
leaf  pine  in  Virginia  the  crowded  and  suppressed  trees  recuperate 
so  slowly  that  it  is  not  profitable  to  thin  the  stands  in  this  way 
after  they  have  passed  the  age  of  thirty-five  years. 

Classes  or  Trees 

Before  thinnings  can  be  intelligently  made,  the  classes  of 
trees  in  a  stand  must  be  known  and  their  relation  to  the  gi'owth 
of  the  stand  understood.  The  live  trees  in  a  second-growth  pine 
8tand  can  be  separated  easily  into  three  classes: 

Dotninunt  Trees. — These  are  the  tallest  and  thriftiest  speci- 
mens with  the  largest  crowns.  Their  growth  is  rapid,  both  in 
height  and  in  diameter. 

Intermediate  Trees. — These  are  the  slender,  clean-bodied  trees, 
with  narrow,  compressed  crowns  which  are  nearly  as  tall  as  the 


ItJ  SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN     VIRGINIA 

dominant  trees.  Their  height  growth  is  rapid,  but,  on  account 
of  their  small  crowns,  their  duuneter  growth  is  slow.  Besides  be- 
ing unable  to  make  good  volume  gi-owth  themselves,  they  retard 
the  growth  of  the  dominant  trees. 

Suppressed  Trees. — These  have  fa^llen  behind  in  height  and 
are  so  much  low^er  than  the  other  trees  that  direct  sunlight  is 
largely  excluded  from  them.  They  interfere  very  little  with  the 
growth  of  the  larger  trees. 

When  overshadowing  and  suppression  pass  a  certain  point 
the  trees  die.  Three-fourths  of  the  dead  trees  are  in  the  sup- 
pressed class,  but  intermediate  trees  also  die  from  overcrowding. 
Dead  trees  exert  no  influence  upon  the  growth  of  the  stand.  When 
possible,  however,  they  should  be  removed,  since  they  contribute 
to  the  danger  of  disease,  insects,  and  lire. 

HOAV  HEAVILY  TO  THIN 

Thiimings  must  be  heavy  enough  to  provide  more  light  and 
crown  space,  and  more  root  space  and  soil  moisture  for  the  trees 
that  are  left,  yet  they  must  never  be  heavy  enough  at  one  time  to 
admit  too  much  sunlight  and  cause  the  crowns  to  spread  unduly, 
with  a  sacrifice  in  the  rate  of  height  growth.  Too  heavy  a  thin- 
ning results  in  temporary  understocking  and  produces  the  oppo- 
site of  the  result  desired. 

To  be  most  effective,  thinnings  should*  begin  Avhen  a  stand  is 
twenty  years  old,  and  should  be  light  and  frequent.  Early  thin- 
nings prevent  the  crowns  from  crowding  before  their  symmetry 
is  destroyed,  and  yet  maintain  sufficient  crow^n  rivalry  to  secure 
continuous  height  growth  and  promote  the  rapid  shedding  of  the 
lower  limbs.  Before  removing  any  tree,  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
sider how  its  removal  will  affect  the  remaining  trees,  not  only  un- 
til the  next  thinning,  but  until  the  stand  is  mature  and  the  trees 
are  merchantable. 

Thinnings  should  be  made  not  less  often  than  once  every  ten 
years.  Even  with  ten-year  intervals  cuttings  have  to  be  too 
heavj'  for  the  best  interest  of  the  stand  and  excessive  crowding 
takes  place  before  a  thinning  is  repeated.  An  interval  of  five 
years  is  recommended  as  the  most  desirable.  This  develops  the 
full  value  of  the  stand,  and  also  allows  the  cutting  of  enough 
cordwood  from  the  thinnings  to  p^y  for  the  work.  A  careful 
observer  will  be  able  to  lengthen  the  interval  if  the  cost  of  thin- 
nings requires  it. 


Pl.ATK  Til. 
I  lulersiucktil  iara,e  jiule  ^tand  of  shortleaf  pine  8(i  years  old.    The  trees  are 
short  bodied  and  knotty  and  will  yield  only  low  grade  hiniber.    The  hest  that  can 
be  done  with  such  a  stand  is  to  cut  11,  leaving  slender,  clean-bodied  trees  for  seed 
trees. 


SHOKTLEAr    PINE    IX    VIRGINIA  17 

WHAT  TO  REMOVE  IX  THINNING 

Thinnings  should  remove  such  suppressed  trees  as  are  not 
necessary  to  complete  the  crown  cover,  since  they  have  made  their 
growth  and  exert  little  or  no  influence  on  the  growth  of  the  large 
trees.  Species  of  lower  value,  like  gums,  post  oak,  maple,  sassa- 
fras, and  scrub  pine,  should  also  be  cut,  unless  they  are  needed  to 
keep  the  crown  cover  complete.  Funky  or  diseased  trees  should 
be  removed  from  stands  of  all  ages.  Short-bodied,  crooked, 
knotty,  forked,  or  otherwise  defective  pine  trees  should  be  cut 
from  younger  stands,  but  should  be  left  in  old  stands  when  their 
removal  would  make  openings  which  would  not  be  filled  by  the 
spread  of  the  surrounding  crowns.  Enough  of  the  intermediate 
class  should  be  removed  to  provide  growing  space  for  the  trees 
that  are  left.  The  trees  which  are  removed  should  be  selected 
evenly  through  the  stand.  If  several  adjoining  trees  are  removed, 
an  opening  is  left  which  will  be  too  long  in  closing.  If  trees  are 
left  in  groups,  excessive  crowding  in  the  interior  of  the  groups 
will  follow,  and  this  will  result  in  the  loss  by  shading  of  the  in- 
terior branches  and  uiisymmetrical  development  of  the  trees.  When 
there  is  a  choice  the  trees  which  are  left  for  permanent  growth 
should  have  well-developed  and  symmetrical  crowns. 

ACCELERATION  IN  CxROWTH  FROM*  THINNING 

Until  they  are  thirty  or  even  thirty-five  years  old,  the  inter- 
mediate as  well  as  the  dominant  trees  of  shortleaf  pine  stands  re- 
spond vigorously  and  rapidly  to  thinnings  by  accelerated  growth. 
In  older  stands,  the  recuperative  power  of  the  intermediate  trees 
declines  and  the  recoverj'^  from  the  effects  of  overcrowding  is  slow. 
The  recuperative  power  of  the  dominant  class,  however,  is  main- 
tained until  the  trees  are  sixty  years  old,  wdien  the  period  of  rapid 
height  growth  is  well  past  and  crown  isolation  has  taken  place. 
The  ability  of  the  intermediate  trees  in  young  stands  to  recover 
rapidly  from  the  effects  of  close  crowding,  permits  the  cutting  of 
the  largest  trees  in  such  stands  and  the  leaving  of  the  slender, 
clear-stemmed  intermediate  trees  to  form  the  mature  stand. 

In  Plate  VI.  fig.  1,  w^hich  shows  the  cross  section  of  a  stem 
of  shortleaf  pine,  is  to  be  seen  the  results  of  accelerated  and  sus- 
tained growth  which  are  due  to  repeated  light  thinnings.  The 
crowded  condition  of  the  inner  rings  of  growth  show  that  the  tree 
was  a  slender,  intermediate  tree  before  its  crown  was  freed  bv  tlie 


18  SllOHTLEAF    PINE    IX     VIRGINIA 

origiiiiil  thinning,  made^  as  shown  by  the  niimher  of  wide  rings, 
forty-seven  3'ears  before  the  tree  was  cut.  Several  thinnings,  made 
since  the  original  thinning,  have  prevented  any  marked  decline  in 
the  comparatively  rapid  rate  of  growth  which  took  place  after  the 
crown  of  the  tree  was  originally  freed  of  overcrowding.  The  rate 
of  growth  is  one  inch  of  radius  every  eleven  years,  or  about  one 
inch  in  diameter  every  five  years  '(the  bark  thickening  as  well  as 
the  wood), — an  excellent  average  rate  of  growth  to  seek  to  main- 
tain in  the  trees  of  a  stand.  It  produces  timber  suitable  for  the 
highest  classes  of  uses. 

METHOD  OF  THINNING 

The  several  thinnings  are  for  the  benefit  of  the  final  cutting 
and  unless  the  thinnings  are  made  at  a  profit,  the  yield  of  the 
final  cutting  must  be  far  heavier  as  a  result  of  the  thinnings  in 
order  to  make  them  worth  while.  In  young  stands  then,  it  is 
possible  to  distribute  a  portion  of  the  thinnings  in  the  dominani 
class;  in  old  stands,  thinnings  must  be  largely  restricted  to  the 
suppf-essed  and  intermediate  classes.  Stands  more  than  twenty 
years  old,  which  have  never  been  thinned,  require  heavier  thin- 
nings than  stands  of  the  same  age  which  have  been  thinned  pre- 
viously. 

Sapling  Stands  {Younger  than  Tinejiy  Years). — Thinnings  ot 
sapling  stands  are  seldom  possible  (m  account  of  the  expense  of 
making  them  and  the  small  amount  and  poor  character  of  the 
wood  obtained.  Under  average  conditions  of  growth,  the  wood 
which  could  be  cut  in  a  thinning  in  such  a  young  stand  would 
be  from  two  to  four  inches  in  diameter  and  would  make  only  a 
poor  quality  of  fuel.  Thinnings  at  this  age  are  not  recommended 
unless  the  wood  can  be  used.     (Plate  II). 

Small  Pole  Stands  {From  Twenty  to  Thirty  Years  Old). — A 
crowded  stand  twenty-five  years  old  contains  a  number  of  large 
trees  eight  or  nine  inches  in  diameter  breasthigh,  and  a  few  even 
ten  inches;  many  of  w^hich  are  in  the  advance  growth,  two  or  more 
years  older  than  the  average  age  of  the  stand.  Such  trees  are  fre- 
quently bushy  and  very  limby,  with  wide-spreading  crowns.  Usu- 
ally all  of  the  nine  and  ten-inch  trees  in  such  a  stand  and  many  of 
the  eight-inch  trees  can  be  cut.  These  will  furnish  a  small  quan- 
tity of  saw  timber.  In  addition  to  the  large  trees,  all  of  the  trees 
below  four  inches,  and  usually  about  one-half  of  the  five-inch  trees 
can  be  removed.     If  no  previous  thinning  has  been  made,   about 


SHORTLEAF    PINF,    IK     VIRGINIA  19 

200  trees  five  inches  and  larger  could  be  cut  to  the  acre.  These 
should  yield  about  ten  cords  of  wood,  of  which  the  material  above 
nine  inches  might  be  sawed  into  about  500  board  feet  of  lumber.. 
About  900  trees  should  be  left  to  the  acre.  A  thinning  in  a  twenty- 
year-old  .stand  should  yield  much  less,  and  one  in  a  stand  more 
tlian  twenty-five  years  old  should  yield  more  and  leave  fewer  trees, 
per  acre.  At  these  ages  trees  are  making  very  rapid  gi'owth,  and 
the  branches  of  the  crowns  are  sharpiy  ascending,  so  that  com- 
paratively large  openings  are  more  quickly  covered  than  in  older 
stands.  For  this  reason  thinnings  at  this  period  present  no  seri- 
onr  difficulties,  but  it  is  desirable  even  in  making  a  thinning  at 
this  age  to  have  in  view  the  trees  which  are  to  form  the  final, 
stand  and  these  should  be  the  tree  with  very  slender  and  clean 
stems,  that  will  yield  several  logs,  and  from  which  lumber  can  be 
.sawed  free  or  nearly  free  from  any  except  small  knots.  For  the 
relative  value  of  these  trees  compared  with  the  larger  dominant 
trees  in  a  stand,  see  table  16.     (Plate  I). 

Large  Pole  Stands  {From  Thirty  to  Forty  Years  Old). — All' 
trees  below  six  inches,  most  of  the  six-inch  trees,  and  some  of  the 
seven  and  eight-inch  trees,  should  be  removed  from  a  normal 
thirty-five^year-old  stand.  If  no  previous  thinning  has  been  made, 
not  less  than  200  trees  could  be  cut,  many  of  which  would,  how- 
ever, be  five  inches  or  less  in  diameter.  If  a  thiiniing  has  previ- 
ously been  made,  there  would  be  fewer  trees  to  come  out.  A  first 
thinning  at  this  time  should  yield  from  fourteen  to  seventeen 
cords  to  the  acre.  Fewer  trees  are  removed  than  in  thinnings  in 
y(  unger  stands,  and  greater  judgment  must  be  used  in  making 
selections.  The  method  of  cutting  in  strips  can  be  economically 
used  only  by  farmers  who  either  do  their  own  logging  or  who  can 
personally  superintend  it.     (Plate  IV). 

Mature  Stands  {From  Forty  to  Fifty  Years  Old). — If  a  stand 
of  this  age  has  been  previously  thinned,  about  ninety  trees  to  the 
acre  would  be  available  for  removal,  comprising  a  few  six-inch 
trees  which  could  not  have  been  removed  earlier  without  making 
undue  openings  in  the  crown  cover,  many  seven-inch  and  eight- 
inch  trees,  and  some  nine-inch  trees.  If  it  were  a  crowded  stand, 
not  previously  thinned,  from  100  to  200  trees  to  the  acre  might  be 
taken  out,  with  a  yield  of  not  less  than  ten  cords  of  wood  per 
acre.  However,  unless  the  stumpage  value  of  trees  from  fourteen 
to  sixteen  inches  in  diameter  is  greater  than  that  of  trees  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  inches,  a  size  wliich  the  trees  reach  when  about 


20 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 


forty-five  years  old,  timber  is  produced  at  the  lowest  cost  by  cut- 
ting when  the  stand  is  about  this  age  (see  tables  12  and  17). 
Under  oixlinary  conditions,  the  stand  would  be  cut  for  lumber,  and 
not  thinned,  at  this  period.     (Plate  V). 

This  method  of  thinning  crowded  stands  is  based  on  the 
average  erowded  stand. 

Typkal  Stands. — Table  I  shows  approximately  the  average 
number  of  trees  of  each  diameter  from  four  inches  up,  which  were 
found  in  irregularly  thinned  stands  growing  under  average  condi- 
tions. This  table  is  approximately  correct  for  the  average  of  a 
number  of  stands,  but  any  individual  stand  at  a  given  age  will 
probably  show  considerable  variation  from  it,  both  in  the  total 
number  of  trees  per  acre  and  in  the  number  of  trees  in  each  class, 
since  slight  diti'erences  in  the  quality  of  the  soil  atfect  the  number 
of  trees  to  the  acre  at  any  age,  and  the  degree  of  thinning  in- 
fluences both  the  number  of  trees  and  their  size.  It  shows,  how- 
ever, the  rapid  elimination  of  the  smaller  trees,  which  are  the  ones 
which  should  be  chiefly  removed  in  the  thinnings,  and  it  will  serve 
as  a  guide  to  indicate  about  the  number  of  trees  of  each  size  which 
should  be  taken  out  at  each  thinning.  The  stands  which  have  been 
grouped  as  thinned  stands  in  some  cases  were  undoubtedly  natur- 
ally thinly  stocked  and  their  density  has  been  further  affected  by 
artificial  thinnings,  i^'or  this  reason  the  favorable  conditions  of 
these  stands  can  not  be  entirely  ascribed  to  thinnings. 


TABLE  1. 

Approximate  number  of  trees  four  inches  and  over  in  diameter  to  the  acre 
in  unsystematically  thinned  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  {the  twenty-year- 
old  stand  is  unthinned). 


Age  of 

DlAMKTKR    BRKAST   HIQH— INCHES 

stand 

Years 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

1 
17  18 

Total 

20 

«00'  400 

300 

50 

10 

1,360 

2o 

208    27^< 

228 

IM 

92 

10 

5 

.    . 

970 

to 

70    170 

176 

i;5(> 

106 

69 

25 

10 

1 

.     . 

765 

35 

2      76 

121 

111 

118 

87 

46 

23 

9 

2 

615 

40 

8 

S4 

91 

115 

8:-! 

58 

37 

20 

8 

1 

505 

4o 

28 

63 

97 

74 

64 

46 

30 

13 

4 

1 

420 

50 

6 

31 

70 

m 

63 

50 

37 

21 

9 

2 

355 

65 

12 

34 

48 

53 

5? 

41 

26 

15 

7 

1 

289 

fiO 

2 

18 

33 

42 

42 

42 

33 

21 

12 

5 

250 

«5 

10 

17 

30 

36 

3' 

35 

26 

16 

9 

3 

218 

70 

•    • 

•    • 

3 

1 

11 

21 

27 

81 

32 

2,H 

20 

14 

7 

1 

195 

SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 


21 


Table  2  shows  for  two  stands  about  forty-five  years  old  the 
olfect  of  thinning  in  increased  board  yield  and  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  diameter  classes.  One  is  a  crowded  stand  which  has  never 
been  thinned;  the  other  has  been  thinned  for  fifteen  years  in  a 
desultory  manner.  Had  the  thinnings  been  systematically  made, 
better  results  would  have  followed.  The  large  number  of  trees 
between  ten  and  fifteen  inches  in  diameter  in  the  thinned  stand  is 
noteworthy. 

TABLE  2. 

Effect  of  thinning  on  'boarrhfoot  yield  of  shortleaf  pine  and  the   distribu- 
tion of  diameter  classes    (two  stands   about  forty-five  years    old). 


Diameter  of  Trees  Breast  higi 


NUMBKR  OF  Trees  of  Eaci 
Diameter  to  the  Acre 


Unthlnned 
stand 


Thinned 
stand 


10-12 
13-15 

Total  live  trees 

Dead  trees  (all  diameters) 

Yield  in  board  feet  from  trees  9  inchts    and 

over  in  diameter 

Cords  of  stem  wood  with  bark  to  the  acre  .   .   . 


16 

8 

52 

10 

168 

32 

124 

38 

112 

32 

84 

74 

56 

132 

8 

18 

620 

344 

176 

16 

12,740 

18,770 

61 

50 

Table  3  shows  the  average  height  of  the  trees  in  stands  at 
different  ages,  and  the  average  diameter  of  all  trees  in  unthinned 
and  irregularly  thinned  stands: 


22 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN     VIRGINIA 


TABLE    3. 

Average  height  and  average  diameter  of  all  trees  in  fully-stocked-  stands  of 
shortleaf  pine. 


Average  Diameter  of  all  Trees 
Average  HelKht  of  i_ 
Merchantable 

stand  '    1 


Age  of  stand 
Years 


Feet 


aned  crowded 

Thinned  stands 

stands 

Inches 

Inches 

4.0 

4.0 

4.8 

5.3 

5.5 

6.4 

6.2 

7.3 

6.7 

8.2 

7.3 

8.9 

7.7 

9.6 

8.1 

10.1 

8.5 

10.7 

Table  4  show^  the  number  of  trees  nine  inches  and  over  in 
diameter  breast  high  in  unthinned  and  irregularly  thinned  .stands, 
and  the  average  diameter  of  such  trees. 


TABLE  4. 

Average  diameter  and  number  of  trees  nine  inches  and  over  in  fully-stocked 
thinned  and  unthinned  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  of  different  ages. 


Crowded  Unthiwhed  Stands 

Thinned  Stands 

Number  of      !        Average 

Number  of 

Average 

Age  of 

Trees  per             Diameter  of 

Trees  per 

Diameter  of 

stand 

Acre           j           Trees 

Acre 

Trees 

Years 

Inches 

Inches 

20 

25 

1                             i).l 

16 

9.3 

30 

7 

9.3 

lOo 

96 

35 

47 

95 

167 

10.0 

40 

88 

96 

207 

10.4 

45 

125 

98 

232 

10.8 

50 

156 

9.9 

245 

11  1 

55 

182 

10.1 

243 

114 

60 

200 

10.3 

230 

11.7 

65 

213 

10.5 

208 

12  0 

70 

210 

10.7 

192 

12.8 

SirORTLEAF    PINE    IN     VIRGINIA 


23 


froductiox  of  cordwood  fkom  thinned  and 
uxthinnp:d  stands 

The  yield  of  corchvood*  is  determined  rather  by  the  number 
of  trees  than  by  the  size  of  the  individual  trees.  The  most 
crowded  stands  usually  yield  most  heavily,  and  the  yield  appre- 
ciably declines  as  the  stands  become  more  open.  This  has  a  great 
influence  upon  the  yiekl  of  old  stands,  since  after  the  thirty-flfth 
year  there  is  practically  no  increase  in  the  yiekl  in  cords  of  un- 
thinned  stands,  on  account  of  the  rapid  dying  of  the  smaller  trees. 
For  this  reason,  thinnings  are  not  so  profitable  for  the  production 
of  cordwood  as  for  the  production  of  saw  timber;  though  the  trees 
which  would  die  are  saved,  and  some  additional  growth  is  secured.  • 
If  regular  thinnings  are  made  at  intervals  of  five  years,  then  at 
tile  age  of  forty-five  years  the  increased  yield,  including  the  thin- 
nings, is  only  thirty-three  per  cent.,  as  against  an  eighty  per  cent. 


TABLE  5. 

Yield  of   thinned  and  unthinned  stands  in   cords — Trees    thret 
over  in  diameter. 


inches    and 


Unthinned 
Stands 

Thinned  Stands-Yield  of  Thinnings 

stand 

Vol  11 711  e 

at 
Different 

Ages 

Volume  of 
stand  be 
lore  each 
Thinning 

Number 
o  f     Trees 
which  can 
be  remov  - 
en  In  each 
Thinning 

A  p  proxi- 
mate 
a  V  e  r  a  g  e 
diameter 
of  Trees 
removed 

Volume  of 

Trees 
removed 
in  CHCh 
Thinning 

Total  of  all 
previous 

Thinnings 
at  any 
Cutting 
period 

Total 
of  Thin- 
nings 
and 

stand* 

^■ear8 

(11 

Cords 

(•2) 

Cords 

(4) 

Inches 

(5, 

Cor 

-    (6) 

Cords 

(7) 

Cords 

20 

47 

47.0 

930 

3.3 

6  1 

47.0 

25 

57 

52.0 

205 

4.5 

5.1 

6.1 

58.1 

80 

()2 

57  0 

150 

5.0 

5.0 

11.2 

68.2 

Hh 

(54 

60.0 

no 

5.5 

48 

162 

76.2 

40 

Go 

60.0 

85 

6.0 

4.3 

21  0 

81.0 

45 

64 

59.0 

68 

P..5 

40 

25.3 

84.3 

50 

63 

57  0 

1           55 

7.0 

3  6 

29.3 

86  3 

55 

61 

54.5 

45 

7.6 

32.9 

87.4 

♦Column  8  is  the  sum  of  columns  3  and  7. 

♦Unless  otherwise  stated,  all  refei-ences  to  cords  are  to  standard 
cords  of  128  cubic  feet,  and  the  corded  wood  is  measured  with  the  bark 
on.  Standard  cords  can  be  converted  into  long  cords  of  160  cubic  feet 
by  dividing  by  1.25  or  by  multiplying  by  4-5.  Either  standard  or  long 
cords  with  bark  can  be  converted  into  cords  without  bark  by  multiplying 
by  .77,  if  the  wood  comes  from  trees  which  average  less  than  7  inches 
in  diameter,  or  multiplying  by   .82  if  the  trees  average  a  larger  diameter. 


24 


SHOKTLEAF    PINE     IX     VIK(iTNIA 


increase  obtained  at  the  same  age  by  the  thinning  for  lumber. 
I'^nless  the  vahie  of  cordwood  increases  with  the  diameter  of  the 
wood  (as  it  should  if  the  wood  is  used  for  heading  or  stave  bolts) 
no  added  value  per  cord  is  secured  by  thinnings. 

The  yield  in  standard  cords,  stem  wood  with  bark,  of  thinned 
and  unthinned  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  of  ditl'erent  ages  is  shown 
in  Table  5. 

Table  6  shows  the  approximate  miniboi-  of  trees  to  the  acre  in 
crowded  stands  of  different  ages,  and  in  thinned  stands.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  number  of  trees  in  an  unthinned  stand  and 
in  the  same  stand  five  years  after  it  has  been  thinned  indicates 
approximately  the  number  of  trees  which  should  be  removed  from 
the  unthinned  stand.  In  practice,  it  probably  would  be  best  to 
make  two  or  more  thinnings  before  reducing  the  number  of  trees 
in  an  old,  crowded  sfand  to  the  number  in  a  normal,  thinned  stand. 

TABLE   6. 

Approximate  number  of  trees  of  shortleaf  pine  to  the  aere  in  crowded  and 
thinned  stands. 


Total  Number  of  Tkeks  per  Acre 

Age  of  stand 
Y«ars 

Crowded 

Unthinned 

stand 

Thinned 
stands 

Number  which  can  be 

removed  from  a  previously 

Unthinned  stand 

20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 

1,950 

1,440 

1,235 

1030 

860 

710 

535 

1.250 
970 
765 
HI  5 
505 
420 
355 

980 
675 
620 
535 
440 
355 

Maximum  Yield  of  Cordwood. — The  maximum  yield  in  cords 
is  obtained  earlier  than  the  maximum  yield  in  board  feet.  'J'he 
best  stands  more  thaii  fifty  years  old  give  no  heavier  yield  in  cords 
than  younger  stands,  because  they  have  few  trees  to  the  acre, 
while  neglected  stands  in  which  disintegregation  is  taking  place 
show  even  a  decline  in  the  volume. 


PLA.TE  IV. 
A  crow  ded,  lanje  pole  stand  ot  shortleaf  pine  40  years  old,  badly   in  need  of 
thinning  by  removing  the  smaller  pines  and  many  of  the  hardwoods.    Condition  of 
larger  trees,  with  long,  smooth  bodies,  excellent. 


SHORTLEAF    PTNE    IN    VIRGINIA 


25 


TABLE  7. 

Yearly  inocment  of  shortleaf  pine  in  cords    (stem-wood   and   bark)    of  all 
trees  three  inches  and  over  in  diameter,  breasihigh. 


Unthinnkd  Stands 


Thinned  Stands 


Age 

Average 

Periodic  Annual 

Average  Annual 

Periodic  Annual 

of 

Annual 

Increment  for  each 

Increment  in- 

Incremeat for  each 

stand 

Increment 

5  year  Period 

cluding  Thinnings 

5-year  Period 

Years 

Cords 

Cords 

Cords 

Cords 

20 

2.3 

1 

2.3 

25 

2.2 

2. 

2.-! 

2.2 

30 

2.1 

1. 

2.3 

2.0 

35 

1.9 

.5 

2.2 

1.6 

40 

1.7 

.4 

2. 

decrease 

45 

1.3 

decrease 

1.8 

" 

50 

1.2 

" 

1.7 

" 

55 

1.1 

" 

l.fi 

" 

60 

.8 

" 

•  « 

In  both  thinned  and  unthinned  stands  on  average  sites  the 
maximum  yield  in  cords  per  acre  is  obtained  by  cutting  between 
/he  ages  of  twenty  and  twenty-five  years,  at  which  time  a  yield  of 
fifty-seven  cords  per  acre  can  be  secured,  or  an  average  of  2.2 
cords  an  acre  a  year.  The  size  of  the  wood  which  is  obtained  at 
that  time  is,  however,  much  smaller  than  that  from  older  stands, 
and  this  fact  affects  its  vahie. 


26 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 
TABLE  8.  w 


Cost  per  cord  of  groicing  shortleaf  pine  cordwood,  stemwood  with  bark,  in 
unthinned  and  thinned  stands;  including  thinnings,  land  value  $5.00  an 
acre,  interest  rate  five  per  cent,  and  one  per  cent  yearly  in  addition 
for  taxes  and  protection. 


Thinned  Stands 

Accumulated 

Unthinnkd 

Age 

of 

stand 

Cost  of    Land, 
at  .f5  per  Acre, 
6  per  cent.  In- 
terest.   1    p  e  r 

Thinnings 

Net 
cost 

per 
Acre 

Final 

Cost 

("lost  of 

Assumed 

Accu- 

of 
grow- 

Final 

value 

of 

yield 

ing 

yield 

in g  per 

Amount 

per 

ted 

pro- 

per 

cordt 

cord 

valuet 

ducing 
Crop§ 

cordij 

Years 

Cords 

Cords 

Cords 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

20 

$11.04 

47 

$.23 

6.1 

$   .10 

111.04 

47 

$.23 

25 

16  46 

67 

.28 

5.1 

.15 

$   .78 

J  5  68 

52 

.30 

30 

33  72 

62 

.38 

5.0 

.20 

1.97 

21.75 

57 

.38 

35 

33.43 

64 

.52 

4.8 

.25 

3.79 

29.64 

60 

.49 

40 

46.48 

85 

.81 

4.3 

25 

6.37 

40.06 

60 

.66 

45 

63.82 

64 

.99 

4.0 

.25 

9.50 

54.33 

59 

.92 

50 

87.10 

63 

1.38 

13.40 

73  70 

57 

1.30 

.... 

*  Column  2  n  obtained  by  calculating  the  Interest  at  6  per  cent,  plus  1  per  cent,  for  taxes, 
making  a  total  of  6  per  cent.,  compounded  annually  on  a  land  value  of  S5  per  acre. 
Since  tne  land  will  remain  after  the  timber  is  sold,  its  value  is  not  included  in  the  cost 
oi  growing. 

t  Column  4  Is  obtained  by  dividing  column  2  bv  column  3. 

I  Column  7  Is  the  product  of  columns  b  and  6  compounded  at  5  per  cent  every  5-year 
period.  Tha  value  of  wood  removed  in  thinnings  (column  6)  is  only  nominal  on  ac- 
count of  its  small  size  and  the  diiliculty  of  making  thlnnlngs- 

§  Column  8  Is  the  remainder  after  deducting  column  7  from  column  2. 

'i  Column  10  Is  obtained  from  dividing  column  8  by  column  9. 

Cost  of  Growing  Cordwood. — Table  8  shows  the  cost  of 
growing  cordwood  in  both  thinned  and  unthinned  stands  at  a  five 
per  cent,  interest  rate. 

PEODUCnTON  OF  SAW  TIMBER 

Influeiire   of  Dens'ifu   of  Stand   Upon    Yield  of   Saw    Timber   at 
l>ifferent  Ages. 

Maximuni  yiekl  in  hnnber  is  obtained  neither  from  stands 
which  are  continuously  very  crowded  nor  from  understocked  stands, 
but  from  stands  whicli  are  periodically  and  lightly  thinned  after 
having  been  crowded. 

The  most  marked  etfect  of  thinnings  in  crowded  stands  is  in 
the  amount  and  quality  of  the  yield  in  board  feet.  The  stands 
which  were  measured  to  determine  the  elfects  of  thinnings  had 
been  thinned  in  no  definite  manner;  in  some  cases  only  the  smaller 
trees,  in  other  cases  also  some  of  the  larger  ones,  had  been  cut  out, 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 


27 


as  farm  needs  required.  Some  of  these  thinned  stands  were  evi- 
dently somewhat  understocl<:ed ;  some  Avere  still  too  crow^ded;  and 
others,  at  the  time  the  measurements  were  made,  had  not  had  tmie 
to  respond  fully  to  the  thinnings.  It  is  probable  that  by  sys- 
tematic thinnings  of  the  kind  recommended  the  yield  shown  in  the 
tables  could  be  further  increased  ten  or  even  twenty  per  cent. 

Table  9  shows  the  yield  of  stands  which  have  dilferent 
numbers  of  trees  to  the  acre;  in  other  woixls  the  yield  is  of  under- 
stocked, thinned,  and  crowded  stands.  The  yield  is  based  on  cut- 
ting to  nine  inches  in  diameter  breasthigh,  which  is  equivalent 
to  about  eleven  inches  on  the  stump.  In  the  understocked  stands 
the  crown  cover  is  practically  as  complete  as  in  the  thinned  and 
crowded  ones,  but  all  the  trees  are  low  and  short-bodied  and  few 
slender  or  dead  trees  are  present.     (Plate  III). 


TABLE  9. 

Yield  of  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  having  different  numbers  of  trees  per  acre, 
(influence  of  density  of  stands  upon  yield  of  saw  timber). 


AvBRAGB  Understocked 
Stands 

Fully  Stocked  Stands 

WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  THINNED 

Crowded  Stands, 
Unthinnkd 

Age 
Years 

Number  of 
Trees  to 
the  Acre 

Yield 

in  Hoard 

Feet 

Number  of 
Trees  to 
the  Acre 

Yield 

in  Board 

Feet 

Number  of 
Trees  to 
the  Acre 

Yield 

in  Board 

Feet 

30 
40 
50 
60 

350 
300 
150 
100 

3.800 
5,700 
6,900 
7,800 

765                      8,400 
505                  16.400 
355                  20,400 
255                  23,000 

1,235 
860 
535 
395 

200 

6,000 

13,100 

16,800 

The  yield  of  an  understocked  stand  when  more  than  thirty 
years  old  is  only  about  one-half  of  that  obtainable  from  a  fully 
stocked  stand  of  the  same  age,  after  thinning.  Many  of  the  trees 
in  oj)en,  understocked  stands  attain  a  diameter  of  nine  or  more 
indies  sooner  than  do  trees  in  crowded  stands,  for  in  crowded 
stands  the  continued  competition  retaixls  the  diameter  growth  of 
the  individual  trees.  This  explains  why  crowded  stands  thirty 
years  old  are  not  producing  merchantable  timber. 

Ill  the  average  understocked  stand  the  cost  of  growing  the 
timber  is  far  in  excess  of  its  present  stumpage  price.  This  is 
hirgely  due  to  the  small  yield.  If  sold  at  $2  per  thousand  board 
feet,  timber  from  understocked  stands  pays  less  than  two  per  cent, 
on  the  assumed  investment  of  $5  an  acre. 


28 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 


'I'able  10  shows  the  infiueiiw  of  density  upon  the  cost  per 
1,000  board  feet  of  gi-owing  shortleaf  pine  stnmpage  in  old-field 
stands,  based  on  net  returns  at  five  per  cent.,  taxes  one  per  cent,  in 
addition,  land  value  $5  an  acre. 


TABLE  10. 

Influence  of  number  of  trees,  or  of  density  of  stand  on  cost  of  growing 
1,000  board  feet  in  old-field  stands  of  shortleaf  pine. 


Age 

of 

stand 


Average  Under- 

C R  O  W  D  E  D.     UN- 

Accumulated 

stocked  Stands 

THiNNED  Stands 

Cost  of  the 

Investment 

per  Acre 

Yield         Cost 

Yield 

Cost 

less  the 

per            per 

per 

per 

Value  of  the 

Acre          M  ft 

Acre 

M  ft. 

Land 

1 

Bd.  ft. 

Bd.  ft. 

Thinned  Stands    Neg- 

i.ECTiNG  Value  of 

Thinnivgs 


Yield 
per 
Acre 


Cost 
per 
M  ft. 


$  23.72 
46.43 
87.10 
159.90 


3,800  $  6.30 

5,700  I  8.10 

6,900  12  60 

7,800  20.51 


6,000  ,    $  7,73 
13,100  6.65 

15,000         10  66 


8,400 
16,400 
20,400 
23  000 


$  2.82 
2.83 

4.27 
6  82 


At  eveiT  age  if  thinnings  are  made  without  loss,  the  cost  of 
growing  stumpage  in  fully  stocked  thinned  stands  is  less  than  the 
cost  of  growing  it  either  in  crowded  or  understocked  stands.  If 
thinnings  do  not  pay  tor  themselves  the  cost  is  higher,  and  if 
they  pay  a  profit,  the  cost  is  lower. 

Age  of  Cutting  for  Maximum  Yield. — The  maximum  annual 
yield  in  board  feet  from  trees  nine  inches  and  over  in  diameter 
breasthigh  is  obtained  from  thinned  stands  when  they  are  cut  at 
forty-eight  years  of  age.  At  that  time  in  such  a  stand,  the  aver- 
age annual  yield  per  acre  is  about  410  board  feet,  and  the  diameter 
of  the  average- sized  tree  is  about  9.5  inches  breasthigh,  or  11.5 
inches  on  the  stump. 

For  unthinned  stands,  the  nuiximum  annual  yield  is  obtained 
by  cutting  wiien  about  fifty-seven  years  old.  The  average  dia- 
meter of  the  trees  in  such  a  stand  is  about  8.2  inches  at  brea.st- 
height  or  9.8  inches  on  the  stump.  Table  11  shows  the  yearly 
increment  in  board  feet  of  tre^s  nine  inches  and  over  in  diameter 
breasthigh. 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 
TABLE    11. 


29 


Annual   increment   per  acre  in   board  feet   of   trees   of   shortleaf  pine   nine 
inches  and  over  in  diameter   breasthigh. 


ThiNxVned  stand  (Thinnings 
Neglected) 

Unthinned  Stand 

stand 
Years 

Average 

Annual 

Increment 

Board  feet 

Periodic  Annual 

Increnieut  for 

each  Decade 

Board  feet 

Average 

Annual 

Increment 

Board  feet 

Periodic  Annual 
Inci  ement  lor 
each  Decade 

Board  feet 

30 

280 
410 
408 
383 
357 

40 

800 
400 
260 
200 

150 
2(53 
250 
238 

50 
60 
70 

710 
190 
170 

Cost  of  Growing  Saw  Thnher. — If  only  the  maximum  animal 
yield  were  to  be  considered  in  growing  timber  it  would  undoubt- 
edly be  advisable  in  all  cases  to  hold  timber  until  this  could  be 
secured.  The  cost  of  carrying  the  investment,  however,  is  a  factor 
which  cannot  be  overlooked.  The  land  has  a  sale  value,  and  taxes 
are  paid  upon  it  yearly.  In  addition,  the  cost  of  protection,  such 
as  maintaining  fences,  extinguishing  fires,  etc.,  must  often  be  borne. 

In  making  a  calculation  of  the  cost  of  growing  timber  it  is 
necessary  to  determine,  from  the  time  stocking  took  place  to  the 
time  when  the  timber  is  cut,  the  accumulated  taxes  paid  on  the 
land  and  the  interest  compounded  annually  on  the  investment 
represented  by  the  value  of  the  land  and  the  cost  of  stocking  it. 
In  making  this  calculation,  both  the  actual  and  tax  assessment 
value  of  the  land  has  been  assumed  to  be  $5  an  acre  for  the  entire 
period  of  growth.  The  tax  rate  and  other  expenses  are  assumed 
to  be  one  per  cent,  on  this  valuation.  If  the  owner  is  content 
with  a  gross  interest  of  six  per  cent,  on  his  investment,  then  the 
net  rate,  after  deducting  taxes  and  other  expenses,  will  be  five  per 
cent,  a  year. 

In  the  old-field  stands  there  is  no  cost  of  stocking  to  consider. 
The  profits  of  thinnings  are  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  those 
given  in  column  7,  Table  8,  for  cordwood. 

In  oixler  to  obtain  a  six  per  cent,  investment  which,  after 
allowing  one  per  cent,  per  annum  for  taxes  and  protection,  will 
yield  five  per  cent,  net,  the  following  yields  and  prices  must  be 
secured.     The  value  of  the  land  is  placed  at  $5  an  acre.     If  stump- 


30 


SHOiriLKAF     PINK     IX     \IH(;TXIA 


age  is  sold  at  less  than  the  cost  of  growing  1,000  board  feet,  or  if 
the  stands  cut  less  than  the  amoimts  given  at  the  different  ages, 
less  than  five  per  cent,  net  is  obtained  on  the  investment.  If 
stumpage  is  sola  at  a  higher  price  and  the  value  of  the  land  is  not 
more  than  $5  an  acre,  then  the  investment  will  yield  more  tliaii 
five  per  cent. 

TABLE   12. 

Cost  of  growing  shortleaf  pine  saw-timber  in  unthinned  and  thinned  stands, 
including  thinnings.  Land  value  $5  an  acre;  interest  rate  five  per 
cent;  one  per  cent  in  addition  alloived  for  taxes. 


Unthinnkd  Stand 

Thinned  Stand 

Age 

of 

stand 

Vears 

Accumulated  Cost  of  In- 
vestment   Land   at    So 
an  acre,  Sf^r  interest,  1^ 
added    for  taxes,    less 
cost  ol land 

Yield 
Bd.  ft. 

Cost  of 
growing 
per  M 
bd.  ft. 

Net  Cost 

per  acre 

of 

producing 

crop* 

Final 
yield 

Bd.  ft. 

Cost  of 

growing 

per  M 

bd.  ft. 

20 

$11.04 
16.46 
23.72 
33.43 
46.43 
63.82 
87.10 

$11.04 
15.68 
21.75 
29.64 
40.06 
54.83 
73.70 

'  900 
8,400 
13.400 
16,400 
18,700 
20,400 

25 

$17.00 

30 
35 
40 
45 
50 

200 

1,400 

6  000 

10,200 

13,106 

■  123.80  ■ 
7.64 
6.25 
6.70 

2.59 
2.21 
2.44 
2.90 
3.61 

♦  After  deducting  value  of  thinnings  as  shown  in  Table  8. 

The  cheapest  cost  of  production,  with  interest  at  five  per  cent, 
and  taxes  at  one  per  cent.,  or  six  per  cent,  for  both  is  $6.25  a 
thou.^and  board  feet  from  unthinned  stands  and  $2.21  from  thinned 
stands. 

The  period  when  the  cost  of  growing  the  timber  is  the  lowest 
is  known  as  the  financial  maturity.  If  timber  is  held  longer  than 
the  period  of  financial  maturity,  there  must  be  a  considerable  ad- 
vance in  its  value  to  cover  the  cost  of  carrying  it,  that  is.  the 
accumulated  interest  and  taxes,  and  this  is  particularly  true  of 
old  stands  the  volume  of  which  is  increasing  very  slowly  or  per- 
haps actually  declining. 

The  owner  of  timberland  is  interested  in  knowing  the  rate  of 
interest  he  may  expect  from  his  investment  when  the  product  sells 
at  a  give  price.  Tables  IB  and  14  show  the  interest  yielded 
by  stands  of  old-field  pine  at  different  ages,  with  the  land 
worth  $5  an  acre  and  with  stumpage  selling  at  $2  a  thousand 
feet    and    cordwood    at    twentv-five    cents    a    cord.     In    table    14 


SHORTLEAF    PINE    IN    V1KGI^-IA 


31 


for  cordwood  from  a  thinned  stand,  it  is  assumed  that  thinnings 
produce  the  returns  allowed  in  column  7,  Table  8. 

In  the  table  for  board  feet  from  a  thinned  stand,  thinnings 
are  supposed  to  be  made  without  either  profit  or  loss.  The  inter- 
est yielded  is  gi'oss,  and  includes  taxes  and  the  cost  of  protection — 
items  which  would  usually  amount  to  about  one  per  cent,  of  the 
land  value  and  would  corresp(mdingly  reduce  the  returns. 


TABLE  13. 

SAW  TIMBER  STUMPAGE  AT  $2  A  THOUSAND  BOARD  FEET. 

Gross  rate  per  cent  yielded  by  stands  of  old^field  pine  on  a  land   value  of 
$5  an  acre.* 


Thinned  Stand 

Unthinned  Stand 

Age 

of 

stand 

Years 

Yield  per 
Acre 

BJ.  ft. 

Value  of  stand 
neglecting 
Thinnings 

Gross  rate 

per  cent. 

Yielded  on 

Land  Value 

Per  cent. 

Yield 
per 

Acre 

Bd.  ft. 

Value 

of 
stand 

Gross  rate 

per  cent. 

Yielded 

on  Laud 

Value 

Per  cent. 

30 

8,400     1             $16.80 

4.3 
50 
5.0 
4.5 
4.0 

35 

40 
45 

m) 

13,400 
16,400 
IS, 700 
20,400 

26.  SO 
32.80 
37.40 
40.80 

*  6,000 
10,200 
13,100 

'$12.00 
20.40 
26.20 

■  2.5 
3.2 
8.3 

TA.BLE   14. 

CORDWOOD  STUMPAGE  OF  FINAL  YIELD  AT  2'^  CENTS  A  CORD. 

Gross  rate  per  cent  yielded  hy  stands  of  shortleaf  pine  in  old-field  with   a 
land  value  of  $5  an  acre.* 


Thinned  Stand 

Unthinned  Stand 

Age 

of 

stand 

Years 

Final 
.yield 

Cords 

Total  V  a  lue,  per 

Acre,  including  Ac- 
cumulated     Value 
of  Thinnings  at  i% 
compound  interest 

Gross  rate 

per  cent, 

Yielded  on 

Land  Value 

Per  cent. 

Yield 
per 
Acre 

Cords 

Value 

of 
stand 

Gross  rate 

yer  cent. 

Yielded  on 

Land  Value 

Per  cent. 

20 

47 

r^2 
57 
60 
(iO 
59 
57 

49 
57 
62 
64 
65 
64 
63 

$11.75 
14  25 
15.50 
16.00 
16.25 
16.00 
15.75 

43 
4.2 
3.8 
3.5 
3.0 
28 
2.5 

25 
30 
35 
4o 
45 
50 

$13.74 
16.08 
18.44 
19.65 
23.94 
26.43 

4.0 
,          4.0 
3.8 
3.6 
3.5 
3.2 

1 

Gross  rate  per  cent,  includes  ta.xes  and  cost  of  protection  as  well  as  the  interest  on 
thelnveatraent. 


32 


SHORTLEAr    PINE    IN    VIRGINIA 


VALUE  OF  TREES  AND  STANDS 

The  lumber  from  second-growth  stands  of  shortleaf  pine, 
when  .awed  into  boaixls  one  inch  thick  and  graded  according  to 
the  rules  of  the  North  Carolina  Pine  Association,  sells  for  a  high- 
er price  than  if  it  is  sold  ungraded,  or  than  if  it  is  sold  in  the 
form  of  framing.  The  lumber  which  is  saAved  from  young  stands 
less  than  35  years  old  is  as  a  rule  too  narrow,  and  that  from  stands 
in  which  the  trees  have  not  been  crowded,  is  too  knotty  to  justify 
grading.  The  older  the  stand  the  more  valuable  becomes  the  lum- 
ber which  can  be  cift  from  it  not  only  on  account  of  greater  widths 
but  also  a  larger  proportion  of  the  high  grade^.  If  the  trees  of 
different  diameters  in  a  crowded  stand  which  is  about  50  years  old 
(the  age  of  maturity)  are  carefully  sawed  into  boards  of  even 
width  and  uniform  thickness,  they  will  yield  approximately  the 
amounts  of  the  different  grades  of  lumber  which  are  given  in 
Table  15.  The  figTires  in  this  table  are  based  on  actual  measure- 
ments of  grades  which  were  made  at  a  mill  where  trees  of  these 
sizes  and  age  were  being  cut. 


TABLE  15. 

Total  volumes  in  board  feel,  and  the  amount  of  the  grades  of  lumber  in  trees  of  different 
diameters  and  heights  in  dense  stands  of  short- leaf  pine  45  to  60  years  old. 


niaraeter 

breast- 
high 
Inches 

Total 

Number 

iDBlrte 

height 

of  16  foot 

bark  at 

Feet 

logs 

the  top 
Inches 

7 

48 

U 

5.0 

8 

58 

ll 

6.0 

9 

57 

2 

6.5 

10 

62 

2} 

6.5 

U 

66 

2i 

6.5 

12 

70 

3 

7.0 

13 

75 

3 

7.0 

14 

78 

3 

7.5 

15 

80 

3i 

7.5 

16 

80 

3: 

8.0 

17 

80 

8 

8.0 

18 

81 

3 

8.0 

19 

81 

■i\ 

8.5 

20 

81 

3^ 

90 

21 

81 

3i 

9.0 

22 

81 

3i 

9.0 

Amounts  of  thb  oifferknt 
Grades  Sawed  Fkom  Trees 


No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No.  3. 

Box  or 
frm'g 

Other 
grades 

B  o 

a  r  d 

F  e 

e  t 

4 

12 

f) 

2 

6 

14 

6 

4 

13 

15 

6 

4 

8 

18 

19 

6 

8 

12 

25 

28 

6 

18 

33 

27 

36 

6 

26 

33 

37 

40 

6 

32 

38 

48 

56 

7 

47 

40 

63 

67 

9 

70 

48 

75 

/•i 

U 

74 

60 

104 

87 

13 

83 

76 

120 

108 

16 

92 

92 

143 

115 

18 

105 

115 

167 

122 

18 

120 

138 

197 

125 

18 

136 

163 

230 

129 

20 

Total 
volume 

1-4  Inch 
*aw  kerf 
Bd.  ft. 


22 

28 

38 

55 

79 

l09 

142 

181 

228 

280 

338 

398 

460 

527 

598 

678 


The  smaller  trees  in  stands  of  this  age  are  long-bodied  and 
clear  stemmed,  have  very  little  taper  and  thin  bark,  and,  although 


I'LAIK   V. 
Mature  Stand  or  shortkaf  pliie.    Trees  nearly  uniform  In  size  and  ready 
be  cut  for  lumber.    Groups  of  slender,  wlndtirm  trees  can  be  left  for  seed  trees. 


.SHORTLEAF    PINK     IN     VIRGIN  I.\ 


33 


the  boards  which  can  be  sawed  from  such  trees  are  narrow,  they 
are  comparatively  free  from  knots  and  will  justify  grading  if 
handled  in  connection  with  the  wider  boards  from  the  larger  trees. 
Trees  of  the  same  size  in  younger  stands  are  more  tapering  and 
more  knott}',  and  the  lumber  is  of  lower  grade. 

Air-dried  lumber  of  the  dirt'erent  grades,  consisting  of  mix- 
ed width,  but  less  than  12  inches  wide,  is  quoted  (November,  1912) 
at  the  following  prices  per  1,000  board  feet,  delivered  at  Norfolk, 
Richmond,  Peter.sburg,  Lynchburg,  and  Roanoke:  No.  1,  $26; 
No.  2,  $24;  No.  3,  $20;  Box,  $18;  Red  heart  and  cull,  $16;  Bark 
strip,  Nos.  1  &  2,  $20;  Bark  strip,  box  $12.  In  Table  16  these 
values  have  been  applied  to  the  amount  of  different  diameters 
delivered  at  Norfolk  and  the  other  points  named  above. 

TABLE  16. 

I'alue  delivered  at  Norfolk,  Richmond,  Pctcrsbunj  Roanoke,  and  Lynchburg,  of  the 
graded  lumber  cut  from  trees  of  different  ^a^neters  and  heights*  growing  in  crowded 
second-growth  stands  4o  to  60  years  old  and  the  value  of  single  trees  and  their  stump- 
age  per  1,000  board  feet  under  different  costs  of  sawing  and  delivery  at  thtse points. 


Value  of  lumber  de- 

Stumpage value  per  tree  with  expenses 

livered  at  Norfolk,  Rich- 

of sawing  and  delivery  per 

Diameter 

mond,  etc. 

1,000  board  ft.  at 

breast-high 

^ 

From  each 
tree 

Per  1,000 
board  ft. 

$10 

812 

$14 

7 

$  .36 

115  95 

1  .13   t 

$  .08 

$  .40 

s 

.47 

16.40 

.18                   .12 

.06 

9 

.66 

17.40 

.28                    .21 

.13 

10 

1.01 

1 8  35 

.46                    .35 

.24 

11 

158 

19.30 

.74                   .58 

.42 

12 

2.16 

19.80 

1.06                   .85 

.68 

13 

2.86 

20.15 

1.44                  1.16 

.87 

14 

3.7;) 

20.95 

1.98                 1.62 

1.26 

15 

4,75 

21.40 

2.58                  2.12 

1.67 

If) 

'6.30 

22.50 

8.5S                  3.02 

2.46 

17 

7.00 

22.55 

4.28                  3.56 

2.89 

18 

8.95 

22  50 

4.79                  4.18 

3.38 

19 

10.40 

22.45 

5.73                  4.81 

3.89 

20 

11.80 

22.40 

6.53                  5  48 

4.42 

21 

18.40 

22.40 

7.41                  6.22 

5.02 

22 

15.17 

22.35 

8.37 

601 

5.65 

♦Heights  which  are  given  In  table  15. 

tObtained  by  deducting  the  cost  of  sawing  and  delivery  per  1,000  board  feet  from  the  de- 
livered value  per  l.OOO  board  feet,  reducing  the  rtraaindC^r  to  the  value  of  one  board  foot 
and  multiplying  by  the  number  of  board  feet  per  tree  as  shown  in  table  15;  thus,  $15.96 
less  SlO  00  equal  to  .*5  '.)5— $5.!*.')  divided  by  lOjO  and  multiplied  by  22  is  equal  to  S.13. 


In  table  15   the  expenses  of  sav.ing  and  delivery,  $10;  $12: 
and   $14   per   1.000  board    feet   are  .supposed  to   represent   a  low. 


34 


.SlIOirn.KAF     IMNK 


IN 


;  I M  A 


a  iiUMliiiiii.  and  a  hiL^i  ccist  of  operation,  and  ai-e  made  up  of  the 
cost  of  lo<rofin<r.  felling,  saAvin<2:.  gradinfr.  interest  on  the  investment 
and  carrying  charges,  cost  of  selling,  delivery  at  market  and  hmd- 
ing.  drying,  and  jn-ofit  of  the  operator.  A  protit  of  from  $2  to  $8 
a  thousand  feet  should  be  allowed  in  jxirtahle  mill  operations, 
the  profit  varying  according  to  the  size  an<l  length  of  the  oper- 
ation. It  is  noteworthy  that  while  the  value  of  the  lumber  per 
1,000  board  feet  which  is  yielded  by  trees  of  different  diameters 
increases  rapidly  up  to  IC)  inches  in  diameter,  there  is  a  decline 
in  the  value  per  l.OOO  feet  of  the  lumber  which  is  sawed  from 
trees  of  diameter  above  IT  inches.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
largest  trees  in  these  stands  have  larger  and  more  numerous  knots 
in  their  stems  and  yield  a  lower  proportion  of  the  high  grades 
of  lumber  than  do  the  slender,  more  clean  stemmed,  intermediate, 
and  suppressed  trees. 

If  the  number  of  trees  of  each  diameter  per  acre  in  a  4.")- 
year  old  stand  (see  Table  '2)  1*  multiplied  by  the  value  per  tree 
of  each  respective  diameter,  the  sum  of  these  amounts  will  give 
the  total  value  of  the  stand  per  acre,  and  from  this  the  value  per 
1,000  feet  of  the  stand.  A  similar  set  of  values  can  be  determined 
for  trees  in  younger  and  older  stands.     These  are  given  in  Table  17. 

TABLE  17. 


\'alue  per  1,000  board  feet  of  the  lumber  which  can  he  sawed  from  dense unthiniied  Mauds 
of  short-leaf  pine  vnder  different  costs  of  rnanufactureand  delivery. 


Age  of  stand 
years 


Value  per  1,000  board  feet  under  a  coit 
of  operaiion  and  delivery  of 


$10 

S12 

m 

1  5.40 

%  3.40 

$  1  40 

G.OO 

4.00 

2.00 

7.05 

5  05 

3.05 

8.60 

(i.HO 

4.40 

iO.U5 

SOS 

().05 

If  the  values  in  Table  17  are  (•()mi)are(l  with  the  cost  i)er 
1,000  board  feet  of  growing  timber,  shown  in  Table  10.  it  will 
be  .seen  that  the  investment,  if  the  .stand  is  unthinned,  does  not 
yield  five  per  cent,  net,  except  under  a  logging  cost  of  $10  and 
when  the  .stand  is  cut  at  the  age  of  50  years. 

In  a  regularly  thinned  stand  from  Avhich  the  vci-y  knotty  trees 
have   been    svstematicallv    removed    when    the    stand    was    voiuiir. 


SHORTLEAF    PIXE    IX     VIRGINIA  ST) 

Jeavino;  on]}-  tlit^  longest-bodied  and  clearest  stemmed  trees  at 
each  cntting  and  in  which  the  trees  have  been  forced  to  large 
diameters  by  isolation  after  the  clear  stem-length  is  50  feet  in 
length,  it  is  believed  that  the  stumpage  vahie  can  be  forced  to  a 
value  of  $8  a  1,000  feet  nnder  a  logging  cost  of  $1'2  when  50 
years  old.     This  would  yield  about  $;250  per  acre. 

WASTE  TX  ("l^TTIXd  SMALL  TEEES 

The  following  tal)le  shows  the  actual  volume  in  board  feet  of 
trees  of  ditferent  diameters  and  heights  when  cut  with  a  saw  taking 
a  kerf  (jf  one-fourth  inch;  the  volume  in  board  feet  when  scaled 
by  Doyle-Scribner  log  rule;  the  volume  of  stem,  wood  only,  in  cubic 
feet;  the  numbei'  of  boaixl  feet,  Doyle-Scril)uer  rule.  ])er  r\\]nv  foot 
of  volume;  and  the  percentage  of  waste. 

TABLE   18.. 

Yoliimc   in   hoard  feet  and   in  cubic   feet  and  per  cent   of   uaste   in   sawing 
trees  of  shortleaf  pine  of  different  diameters. 


Diame- 
ter 
Breast- 
high 


Total 
Height 


Actual 

Volume 

^  inch 

Saw  Kerf 


Board  feet 


Volume 

as  scaled 

b>    Doyles 

Scribner 

rule 


Volume 
of  Stem 

Wood 

only 

C'ubi.- 
feet 


Actual  number 
of  Board  leet, 
per  Cubic    foot 


Per  cent, 
of  waste  in 

Stump, 
Tips,  Slabs 

and  Kerf 


7 

50 

9-) 

8 

7 

3. 

!    75 

s 

55 

28 

IH 

10 

8 

I    75 

u 

60 

:-!8 

25 

18    ■ 

8. 

75 

10 

(i4 

55 

3S 

17    1 

.S.3 

72 

11 

6S 

79 

56 

20    ! 

4. 

1    66 

12 

12 

ior» 

80 

24    ; 

4.5 

1    62 

l.S 

7*) 

142 

111 

20 

4.9 

i    59 

14 

71) 

181 

134 

:-',() 

5. 

i    58 

15 

82 

226 

170 

45    I 

0. 

i     '^ 

The  loss  in  scaling  by  Doyle-Scriber  rule  exceeds  seventy-five 
per  cent,  of  the  total  cubic  volume  of  the  stem  until  the  tree  reaches 
a  diameter  of  thirteen  inches,  'oreasthigh.  This  large  proportion 
(.f  waste  is  an  excellent  reason  for  not  cutting  young  stands  for 
saw  timber  or  for  not  cutting  the  >mall  trees  in  old  stands  unless 
they  are  suppressed  trees. 


LUMBEinX(J    .VXD    HKSTOCKIXC; 
Simultaneously  with   lumbering  conio  the  subject  of  securing 
.1   second    stand   of   young  pine   to   rejilace   the   one    which    is   cut. 


36  SHORTLEAF    PINK     IN     VIRGINIA 

After  orcliiiiiry  culling,  such  as  i.s  practiced  for  farm  u:-e,  or  in 
clear  cutting  stands  of  pine  for  lumber  or  for  fuel,  hardwoods 
generally  form  the  main  part  of  the  young  stand.  The  reasons 
for  this  are  explained  under  the  heading  "Permanency  of  Old- 
Field  Pine  Stands."  To  obtain  reproduction  of  pine,  it  is  neces- 
sary: (1)  To  cut  nearly  clean,  that  there  may  be  abundant  light; 
(2)  To  leave  seed-bearing  pine  trees  scattered  over  the  area  or 
standmg  nearby;  (3)  To  cut  out  the  large  trees  of  such  hard- 
woods as  dogwood,  jjost  oak,  hickory,  persimmon,  etc.,  which  have 
sprung  up  beneath  the  pines,  and  wdiich  would  suppress  many 
pine  seedlings  by  their  shade;  (4)  To  bring  as  much  of  the  min- 
eral soil  to  the  surface  as  possible.  The  hardwoods  should  be  cut 
m  September,  when  their  sprouting  capacit}^  is  lowest. 

Two  methods  of  cutting  are  suggested.  One  method,  leaving 
isolated  seed  trees,  is  for  use  w^here  the  entire  stand  must  be  cut 
at  one  time.  The  other,  cutting  in  strips,  or  groups,  can  be  applied 
when  there  is  a  steady  market  for  saw  logs,  as  when  there  is  a 
nearby  permanent  sawmill,  or  logs  can  be  shipped  to  such  a  mill, 
and  wdien  it  is  possible  to  make  two  or  more  cuttings,  not  less 
than  five  years  apart,  in  a  stand,  always  having  in  view,  however, 
the  development  of  the  valuable  long-bodied  and  clean-stemmed 
trees   (table  16)   which  are  to  form  the  mature  stand. 

Isolated  Seed  Trees. — When  the  saw-timber  must  be  removed 
at  one  cutting  it  is  advisable  to  prepare  for  the  final  cutting  at  the 
time  of  the  last  thinning  by  developing  seed  trees.  At  forty-five 
years  of  age,  the  production  of  seed  by  shortleaf  pine  is  still  ex- 
tremely light,  particularly  in  dense  stands.  If  there  are  no  old 
forest  pines  AA'hich  will  serve  for  seed  trees  within  100  yaiH;is  of 
the  tract,  one  object  of  the  last  thinning  should  be  to  select  and 
develop  trees  for  seed  trees. 

Vigorous,  large-crowned  trees  should  be  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose. They  should  be  not  less  than  four  to  the  acre,  and  should 
be  evenly  distributed  or  else  located  on  the  tops  of  hills  or  knolls. 
Their  crowns  should  be  entirely  freed  by  heavy  thinnings  on  all 
sides.  This  should  lead  to  the  production  of  a  heav}'  crop  of  cones 
and  fertile  seed  Avithin  five  years.  If  the  crowns  again  crowd  be- 
fore lumbering,  they  should  again  be  freed  by  further  thinning. 

When  lumbering  takes  place,  all  merchantable  trees  should  be 
cut  except  these  seed  trees,  Avhich  should  be  able  to  produce  enough 
seed  in  a  few  years  to  restock  the  land.  (Plate  V).  If  the  seetl 
trees  are  windfirm  thev  can  go  over  until  the  next  stand  is  cut; 


SIIORTLEAF    PINE    IN     VIRGINIA  &7 

if  they  fall,  they  can  be  listed  without  breaking  down  too  many  of 
the  small  trees  in  the  young  stand.  Since  the  period  of  restock- 
ing-by  this  method  would  probably  occupy  from  four  to  six  years, 
the  soil  would  not  be  fully  used  during  this  time. 

Cutting  in  Strips. — Complete  and  rapid  stocking  is  better  as- 
>nrod  by  cutting  in  strips,  but  this  method  presupposes  a  continu- 
ous market  for  saw  logs.  The  area  should  be  clear-cut  over  strips 
not  exceeding  200  feet  in  width,  alternating  Avith  strips  of  equal 
width  which  are  only  culled  of  the  smaller  trees.  On  level  ground 
these  strips  should  be  at  right  angles  to  the  roads;  on  hilly  land 
they  should  lie  up  and  down  the  slopes.  The  wooded  strips 'should 
lie  heavily  thinned  by  the  removal  of  all  except  the  largest  trees, 
which  should  not  exceed  twenty  to  the  acre,  and  should  be  left 
well  isolated.  These  trees  will  serve  as  seed  trees,  and  on  account 
of  their  large  number  they  should  seed  the  entire  area  heavily 
within  five  to  ten  years.  As  soon  as  a  thorough  restocking  is 
assured  they  can  be  cut.  Some  of  the  young  trees  will  be  broken 
down,  but  the  loss  will  not  be  serious.  The  diameter  growth  of 
the  seed  trees  after  the  thinning  Avill  be  large  because  of  this  isola- 
tion. Blanks  ten  or  more  feet  square  left  after  the  seed  trees  are 
cut  should  be  planted  by  seed  spotting  as  described  under  the  di- 
rections for  planting.  The  two  loggings  will  increase  the  danger 
from  fire,  requiring  additional  precautionary  measures  to  be  taken. 

This  methoa  can  be  varied  by  leaving  the  seed  trees  in  gi'oups. 

Cutting  Unthinned  Stan/Is. — Both  of  the  above  methods  pre- 
suppose that  the  stand  which  is  being  cut  has  been  thinned,  and 
consequently  is  formed  entirely  or  largely  of  trees  of  merchantable 
size. 

An  understocked  stand,  similar  to  that  shown  in  plate  III. 
and  in  which  the  trees  are  largely  of  merchantable  size,  can  be 
cut  so  as  to  secure  a  restocking,  by  leaving  some  of  the  more 
slender  but  well  crowned  trees  for  seed  trees. 

The  problem  of  cutting  a  crowded  stand  to  the  best  advantage 
and  in  a  manner  to  secure  a  restocking  is  more  difficult.  The  trees 
in  such  a  stand  have  a  much  greater  range  of  diameter  than  those 
in  a  thinned  stand.  There  is  a  large  number  of  small  suppressed 
and  intermediate  trees  which  may  be  too  small  to  be  cut  eco- 
nomically for  saw  timber  '(see  "Waste  in  cutting  small  trees,"  page 
35).  In  such  a  case  it  may  be  desirable  to  remove  the  stand  in 
two  or  more  cuttings,  made  at  intervals  of  five  or  more  years.  At 
the  first  cutting  only  the  largest  trees  should  l)e  cut,  particularly 


38  SIIORTLEAF    PINK     IN     VIKdIMA 

those  which  ha\e  ^.hort  and  knotty  stems.  Such  as  have  very 
slender  clean  stems  and  good  crowns  should  be  left,  but  enough 
of  the  largest  trees  should  be  taken  to  open  the  crown  cover  one- 
third.  Such  a  cutting  might  remove  one-tenth  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  trees  but  more  than  one-half  of  the  saAV  log  volume  of  the 
stand.  At  the  second  cutting  not  only  should  most  of  the  trees 
which  have  grown  to  merchantabU'  size  be  removed,  but  also  sucli 
of  the  smaller  stunted  trees  as  have  shown  no  indication  of  thrift 
since  the  first  cutting.  The  trees  which  are  left  should  be  choice 
clean-stemmed  specimens  with  medium  sized,  but  thrifty  crowns. 
They  can  be  left  at  the  rate  of  ten  to  twenty  to  the  acre.  Such 
trees  as  have  Aveak  stems  which  would  be  likely  to  be  bowed  or 
broken  by  wind  or  sleet  should  not  be  left.  Thickets  of  high 
shrubs  and  broadleaf  trees  should  be  cut.  It  is  probable  that  by 
the  time  of  the  second  cutting  groups  of  young  seedlings,  about 
one  foot  in  height,  will  have  appeared  beneath  the  openings  made 
by  the  first  cutting.  Seed  from  the  trees  which  are  left  after  the 
second  cutting  Avill  complete  the  restocking.  Two  courses  can  be 
followed  in  regard  to  the  trees  which  are  left  after  the  second 
cutting.  Either  they  can  be  removed  after  thorough  seedling  es- 
tablishment is  assured,  or  they  can  lie  held  over  and  cut  at  some 
thinning  period  of  the  young  stand.  If  trees  with  fifty  feet  of 
clear  length  and  diameters  of  from  ten  to  twelve  inches  are  left 
after  the  second  cutting  and  are  held  until  they  are  twenty  to 
twenty-foiu'  inches  in  diameter  their  stumpage  value  will  increase 
from  three  to  five  times.  This  increase  in  value  will  be  due  en- 
tirely to  the  greater  size  of  the  logs,  which  will  yield  a  high  grade 
of  lumber  and  can  be  sawn  with  small  waste.  (See  Tables  IG  and 
18  and  Plate  II,  Fig.  1). 

No  method  of  cutting  a  crowded  iiuthiniied  stand.  howe\er. 
Avill  give  as  great  a  yield  in  lioard  feet  \)ev  acre,  or  will  produce 
logs  of  as  high  a  grade,  as  can  l)e  obtained  from  a  well-thinned 
stand. 

PLAXTIX(;  WASTE  LAND 

On  many  farms  in  middle  Virginia  there  are  tracts  of  g'lllied. 
or  shalhnv  soiled  or  rocky,  or  other  iioor  or  waste  land  which  are 
either  Avithout  a  gi-owth  of  pine  oi-  are  stocking  extremely  slowly 
and  irregularly.  Shortleaf  pine  could  be  planted  profitably  on 
such  tracts.  The  sound  seed  of  this  pine  sprout  so  freely,  and  the 
growth  of  the  young  seedling  is  so  rapid,  that  direct  seeding  can 


SIIOKTI.KAF    IMNK    IX    \IK(UMA. 


39 


l)e  iiiiide  ill  place  of  using-  young  plants.  Seed  should  be  planted 
in  spots  six  feet  apart  in  Avell  loosened  soil  and  lightly  covered, 
not  deeper  than  one-half  inch  Avith  earth.  One  of  the  two  follow- 
ing methods  can  be  used.  If  the  tract  can  be  plowed,  shallow 
furroAvs  can  be  laid  off  at  intervals  of  six  feet  with  a  shovel  plow 
or  small  turning  plow,  and  the  seed  dropped  at  six-foot  intervals 
m  the  furrows  and  liglitly  covered  with  a  weeding  hoe.  If  a  plow 
cannot  be  used,  the  earth  can  be  loosened  with  a  light  grub  hoe 
over  a  spot  six  or  eight  inches  square,  and  the  seed  planted  and 
liglitly  covered  in  the  middle  of  this  spot.  If  the  soil  is  either 
dry  or  light  and  sandy  the  planter  should  step  on  the  spot  after 
covering  to  bring  the  earth  in  close  contact  with  the  seed  and  in- 
sure germination.  Set  poles  should  be  used  to  keep  the  rows 
straight. 

The  seed  of  shortleaf  pine  has  a  low  germinating  percentage, 
seldom  more  than  forty-five  per  cent.,  and  a  number  of  seed, 
twelve  or  fifteen,  should  therefore  be  dropped  in  a  hole.  As  many 
as  can  easily  be  held  Iwtween  the  thumb,  index  finger  and  second 
finger  will  insure  a  stand.  There  are  about  50,000  seed  to  a  pound, 
so  that  a  pound,  if  carefully  handled,  will  plant  an  acre.  The 
smallness  of  the  seeds,  however,  makes  them  difficult  to  handle, 
and  an  inexperienced  planter  will  usually  drop  more  than  are 
necessary  for  obtaining  a  stand.  Planting  should  be  done  at  any 
time  between  the  middle  of  February  and  the  first  of  April, 
whenever  the  soil  is  in  suitable  condition.  Protection  from  fire 
and  cattle  is  absolutely  necessary  until  the  trees  are  three  or  four 
inches  in  diameter  and  the  bark  thick  enough  to  afford  reasonable 
protection,  which  will  require  from  ten  to  fifteen  years. 

Returns  from  Plant  at  ions. — If  such  plantations  are  carefully 
thinned  their  yiekl  should  greatly  exceed  that  of  natural  stands. 

riie  cost  of  i)lanting  an  acre  and  of  carrying  the  investment 
is  calculated  on  the  basis  of  a  land  value  of  $10  an  acre,  with  five 
per  cent,  compound  interest,  which  includes  an  allowance  of  one 
per  cent,  an  acre  a  year  for  taxes  and  protection.  This  land  value 
is  low  for  soils  which  will  produce  gowl  shortleaf  pine.  The  prices 
at  which  stumpage  must  be  sold  to  net  four  per  cent,  on  the  m- 
vestment  are  shown  in  Talile  10. 

Cost   of  land $10  00 

Cost  of  seed  one  pound  per  acre 2  50 

Cost  of  planting  per  acre 1  50 

Total  initial   cost   of   imestment $14  00 


40 


SHORTLEAF  riNE    1-N    \llf(;lMA. 


TABLE   19.  ^ 

Cost    of   producing    shortleaf    pme    strnnj)age    in-   plantations    with    five    per 
cent  gross  interest  on  investment. 


1 

13 

ed  Cost 
ent,per 
eslconi- 
t  5  per 
initial 
and 

innings 
Iddleof 
f)0  cents 
anding, 
nulated 
t    4  per 

ard  feet 
9"   and 
iameter 
h 

0  Hoard 
growing 

1^2 

0 

p-o 

1 
O 

< 

Accumulat 
oflnvestni 
Acre.  Inter 
pounded  a 
cent,     less 
Value  of  I 

Credit  OfTh 
made  in  m 
Decade  at 
«  Cord,  St 
with  accui 
Interest  a 
cent,  net* 

Yield  In  no 
of    Trees 
over   in  D 
Breast  hlg 

Cost  per  1.0 
feet   of 
Timber 

ii=f 

|B5£ 

Is 

20 

$   27.10 

.  .  .! 

21 

$   1.28 

80 

40.20 

1  7.00 

5,800 

$  5  fin     j 

51 

.65 

40 

78.56 

20.80 

14  800 

3.8.S 

(50 

.P6 

50 

150.58 

40  28 

19,300 

5.69 

(50 

1  84 

*  On  account  of  the  small  amount  of  the  thinnings  and  the  short  periods  duiing  which  the 
money  from  them  would  be  Invested,  only  4  per  cent,  is  allowed  on  them. 

Thinnings  made  at  middle  of  decades  yield  about  eleven  cords 
at  twenty-five  years,  fifteen  cords  at  thirty-five  years,  and  ten 
cords  at  forty-five  years  per  acre. 

The  minimum  cost  of  producing  himber  would  be  about  $3.83 
per  1,000  board  feet,  when  a  stand  is  about  forty  years  old. 

The  minimum  cost  of  producing  cordwood  would  be^about 
sixty-five  cents  a  cord  at  an  age  of  thirty  years. 

These  figures,  wnich  are  conservative,  indicate  that  planta- 
tions can  be  expected  to  yield  at  least  five  per  cent,  gross  or  four 
per  cent,  net  after  allowing  one  per  cent,  or  ten  cents  an  acre  a 
year,  for  taxes  and  protection.  With  regularly  made  and  care- 
fully executed  thinnings,  the  yield  would  probably  exceed  that  of 
the  irregularly  thinned  stands  on  which  the  calculations  are  based 
and  the  cost  of  production  would  be  lowered:  in  other  words  a 
higher  interest  rate  would  be  obtained. 

In  order  for  a  plantation  to  yield  five  per  cent,  net  or  six  per 
cent,  gross,  alloAving  one  per  cent,  an  acre  a  year  for  taxes  and  fire 
protection,  the  following  returns,  which  are  fair  and  reasonable, 
must  be  obtained  from  stands  of  different   ages. 


SHOKTLEAF  PINE   IK   VIRGINIA. 


41 


TABLE  20. 

Cost  of  producing  shortleaf  pine  stunvpage  in  plantations  with  six  per  cent 
gross  interest  on  investment. 


•a 

a 

< 
Years 

Accumulated  Cost 
of  Investment,  per 
Acre,  Interest  com- 
pounded at  6  per 
cent.,    less    Initial 
Value  of  Land 

Credit  of  Thinnings 
made  In  middle  of 
Decade  at  50  cents 
a   Cord,    standing 
with  accumulated 
Intcest   at   4    per 
cent    net* 

Yield  in  Board  feet 
of    Trees    9"    and 
over  In  Diameter 
Breast  high. 

II 

oH 

!l 

Final  Yield  In  Cords 
of  Trees  5"   and 
over  In  Diameter 
Breast  high 

II 

20 

%  34.80 
70.36 
134.06 

247.88 

$    10.91 
7.70 
10.77 

21 
51 
60 
60 

$  1.66 

30 
40 
60 

$   7  00 
20.10 
40. 2S 

5,  SCO 
14,800 
19,300 

1.23 
1.88 
8.30 

*On  account  of  the  small  amount  of  the  thinnings  and  the  short  period  during  which  tha 
money  from  them  would  be  Invested  only  4  per  cent,  net  is  allowed  on  them. 

In  neither  of  the  foregoing  calculations  is  any  allowance  made 
for  superintendence,  and  possible  losses  from  insects,  sleet  and 
snow  breakage,  and  windstorm  damage,  but  it  must  also  be  re- 
membered that  the  constant  increase  in  the  price  of  timber  is  like- 
wi.se  neglected. 

THP]   PROTECTlONi    OF    STANDS 

The  two  important  dangers  to  pine  stands,  fire  and  insects, 
are  in  a  measure  interrelated.  Those  trees  which  have  been  weak- 
ened or  injured  by  fires  invite  insects,  while  stands  which  are  lit- 
tered by  the  wood  which  has  died  from'  insect  depredations,  and 
which  have  become  grassy  on  account  of  openings  made  in  the 
crown  cover  where  trees  have  been  killed  by  insects  are  particularly 
exposed  to  serious  damage  from  fire.  AVith  both  dangers,  pre- 
vention is  the  most  eifective  means  of  control. 

Fi/res. — While  the  danger  of  fire  is  always  present,  it  is  far 
more  serious  in  connection  with  young  stands  and  particularly 
those  in  process  of  stocking,  such  as  fields  which  have  recently 
been  turned  out,  or  newly  cut  or  lumbered  land.  Fires  injure 
such  young  stands  at  any  season  of  the  year  in  which  they  may 
occur.  Although  many  individuals  of  shortleaf  pine  between  one 
and  two  feet  high,  when  killed  by  an  early  spring  fire,,  will  sprout, 
the  sprouting  capacity  is  irregular  and  unreliable  (Plate  VI,  fig.  2). 
Moreover,  most  of  such  sprouts  die  in  a  few  years,  while  many  of 
the  survivors  are  forked.   After  the  tenth  year,  the  heavy  shade  of 


42  SUORITLEAF  PINE   IN   VIKGINIA. 

crowded  stands  and  the  thickened  bark  greatl}^  reduce  the  danger 
of  fire,  but  even  the  heavy  bark  of  old  trees  does  not  afford  com- 
plete protection  from  hot  spring  fires  when  these  are  driven  by  a 
strong  wind.  Thickly  stocked  shortleaf  pine  stands  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  become  grassy  or  foul  with  shrubs  and  herbage,  and  conse- 
quently do  not  require  periodic  winter  burning  for  the  purpose  of 
protection,  such  as  may  often  be  necessary  for  pole  stands  and 
mature  stands  of  loblolly  and  longleaf  pines.  Although  no  visible 
damage  may  be  done  to  older  trees  l)y  such  burnings,  the  rate  of 
growth  is  reduced  by  the  destruction  of  the  pine  straw  and  the 
humus,  while  even  the  slight  scorching  of  trees  may  lead  to  the 
entrance  of  insects  or  fungi. 

Young  stands  and  areas  which  are  in  process  of  stocking  are 
most  effectively  protected  from  fire  by  establishing  and  maintain- 
ing open  fire  lanes,  free  from  straw  and  litter,  completely  aroinid 
them  or  on  the  exposed  sides.  A  shallow  furrow  can  be  plowed 
every  year  on  both  sides  of  the  lanes,  and  the  intervening  strip 
can  be  raked  clear,  or  it  can  be  burned  during  damp,  quiet  weather. 
In  older  stands  the  straw  and  litter  can  be  raked  off  the  lanes  each 
autumn  and  used  for  stable  beddings.  Well  established  lanes,  if 
they  are  free  from  stumps  and  shrubs,  may  convenient h'^  be  raked 
with  a  side  delivery  rake.  By  locating  lanes  at  intervals  through 
a  large  tract,  as  well  as  around  it,  it  is  separated  into  blocks  which 
are  individually  protected.  Where  possible,  roads  and  paths 
should  be  used  for  lanes.  Since  there  is  great  danger  of  a  serious 
fire  during  and  immediately  after  lumbering,  extra  protective  pre- 
caution should  be  taken  at  that  time.  A  fire  that  occurs  at  that 
time  will  frequently  destroy  the  pine  seedlings,  but  the  replace- 
ment of  the  hardwoods  and  shrubs  takes  place  at  once  by  sprout- 
ing. Repeated  fires  eliminate  the  pines.  When  timber  is  sold  or 
when  logging  is  done  by  contract,  an  enforceable  fire  penalty  clause 
should  be  inserted  in  the  contract,  in  oixler  to  obtain  the  necessary 
protection. 

The  Federal  Government  under  the  terms  of  section  2  of 
the  Weeks  Law  extends  its  co-operation  to  States  in  assisting  them 
to  protect  the  forested  water-sheds  of  navigable  streams  from 
fire.  In  order  to  secure  assistance  of  this  kind  a  State  must  have 
provided  by  law  for  a  system  of  forest  fire  protection  and  must 
have  appropriated  funds  for  the  purpose.  Scarcely  a  more  im- 
portant step  could  be  taken  by  the  State  of  Virginia  towards  the 
conservation  of  its  forests  than  the  establishment   of  a  fire  pro- 


8H0RTLEAF  PINE   IN    VIKGINIA.  43 

tective  system.  The  readiness  of  the  Federal  (Tovernment  to  co- 
operate under  the  terms  of  this  hiw  as  soon  as  the  State  itself 
makes  a  start  is  an  incentive  to  immediate  action.  In  the  short- 
leaf  pine  area  of  Virginia  the  water-sheds  of  the  Appomattox, 
James,  Koanoke  and  Rapidan  rivers  could  be  i)rotected  by  such 
co-operation. 

Insects. — The  danger  of  fire  is  greatest  to  seedling  stands,  l)ut 
the  possibility  of  insect  damage,  although  it^is  always  present, 
increases  after  the  trees  are  twenty  years  old.  One  of  the  most 
pernicious  insects  is  the  gine  _bark_beetle,  Dendroctonus  frontalis^ 
ZimmfKi  which  devastated  the  coniferous  forest  of  middle  and  west- 
ern Virginia  between  1888  and  1892.  This  species  channels  the 
inner  bark  in  the  middle  part  of  the  stem  and  eventually  girdles 
the  trees,  thus  killing  them.  Other  beetles  infest  the  wood  of 
the  living  tree,  and  yet  others  attack  only  dead  or  dying  trees. 
The  fecundity  of  the  pine  bark  beetle  is  so  great  that  several  large 
broods  are  produced  in  a  single  summer,  and  when  conditions  are 
favorable  they  propagate  in  enormous  numbers  and  cause  serious 
depredations.  Pure  stands  in  old  fields  invite  destructive  attacks, 
since  in  them  the  insects  can  readily  spread  from  tree  to  tree. 

The  best  way  to  hold  this  insect  in  check  is  to  keep  the  trees 
in  thrifty  condition  by  preventing  overcrowding,  by  removing 
wood  which  would  serve  as  breeding  places,  and  by  cutting  out  in- 
fested trees.  It  is  particularly  desirable  to  maRe  these  protective 
cuttings  before  the  spring  and  early  summer  broods  of  the  insects 
come  out  and  spread.  Infested  trees  should  be  promptly  removed 
as  soon  as  noticed.  The  removal  of  weak  trees  in  thinning  elimi- 
nates them  as  sources  of  breeding,  while  cutting  low  stumps  and 
close  utilization,  or  the  piling  and  burning  of  tops — operations 
which  are  sometimes  advisable  for  other  reasons — remove  much 
other  wood.  The  culting  of  live  trees  should  be  limited  as  far  as 
possible  to  the  winter,  but  dead  trees  can  be  cut  at  any  time. 
Special  care  should  be  used  in  summer  cutting  not  to  leave  freshly- 
cut  tops  touching  live  trees,  and  to  remove  promptly  trees  that 
have  been  killed  by  lightning.  When  cordwood  or  logs  which  are 
spring  or  summer  cut  cannot  be  promptly  removed,  they  should  be 
peeled  or  racked  in  the  sun,  that  they  may  dry.  Detailed  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  protection  against  this  beetle  is  contained  in 
Farmers'  Bulletin.  No.  47.6. 

Fungus  Diseases. — The  most  important  known  fungus  which 
attacks   shortleaf  pine  is   Trametes   'pint,   the  cause   of   redheart. 


44  SHORTLEAF  PINE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

This  is  a  dark  brown  snutf-colored  ^^^jink!'  which  gains  entrance 
into  the  heartwood  of  the  upper  part  of  the  stem  through  knot 
holes,  and  into  the  h)wer  part  by  wounds  caused  by  falling  trees, 
fire  scars,  '(Plate  VI,  fig.  2),  and  insects.  Trees  which  show  the 
"punk"  should  be  promptly  cut. 

Pine  stands  are  also  exposed  to  damage  from  windstonns,  and 
from  sleet  and  wet  snow.  The  damage  by  wind  cannot  be  pre- 
vented. Fortunately,  shortleaf  pine,  when  it  .orows  on  deep  soils, 
is  anchored  by  a  long,  strong  taproot,  and  is  \  ery  windfirm.  On 
shallow  soils,  particularly  a  hard-pan  near  the  surface  which 
checks  the  descent  of  the  taproot,  it  windfalls  badly.  Slender  trees 
are  occasionally  bent  or  even  broken  by  wind.  Frequent  light  thin- 
nings render  the  trees  in  such  stands  more  windfirm. 

Sleet  and  wet  snow  are  dangers  against  which  there  is  no  ade- 
quate protection!  The  weight  of  sleet  and  wet  snow  frequently 
breaks  the  leaders,  and  in  crowded  stands  may  bend  many  stems 
beyond  recovery,  break  them,  or  even  uproot  them.  The  only  pre- 
cautionary measure  is  to  strengthen  the  resisting  power  of  limbs 
and  stems  by  thinning.  Trees  in  young  stands  less  than  twenty 
years  old  are  the  most  likely  to  be  broken  and  bent,  while  trees  in 
older  stands,  in  which  isolation  is  taking  place,  are  the  most  apt 
to  be  overturned.  Frequently,  insect  depredations  follow  this  kind 
of  damage. 


K,  C,  State  Coilege 


<>z?J'-:^^ief^r^^i^ 


ri,AiE  VI. 
A  culled  stand  oi  mixed  pine  and   hardwoods.    The  defetihe  oak  In  the  left 
foreground   is   partially   sliadiiig   groups  of  thrifty   pine  seedlings  and  should  be 
removed.    The  large  pines  in  the  background  serve  as  s^ed  n<-es.    The  seedHngs 
are  greatly  exposed  to  tire. 


^- 


w. 


